Talking to a REAL Japanese Anime Voice Actor (ft. Shu Uchida) | Trash Taste #58

- It's important as like a Japanese voice actor to be able to voice animals! - Do animals? - Do you have to audition for animal roles? - I already had it in my voice reel, and so. (everyone laughing) - Can you do some animals voices right now? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. (Shu imitates dog barking) I can do a cat as well. (Shu imitates cat meowing) (soft music) - Hello and welcome to another episode of "Trash Taste." I am the host for today, Garnt. And with me are, as usual, the boys. And, as you can see, I am not alone on this side. I am reclaiming the host chair, (Shu laughing) as we have a guest on. Would you like to introduce yourself to the crowd? - Yes, hi everyone. My name is Shu Uchida and I'm a voice actor in Japan. Yeah, nice to meet you guys. (everyone laughing) - Just keeping it brief. - You're not just any voice actor, though. - Yeah. - You're our best mate. - Anime voice actor. - Anime voice actor. - Yeah, anime voice actor. - Because we're an anime podcast, as the viewership knows. - Yeah, of course. - Yeah. - You know the 5% of the time we talk about anime? (everyone laughing) - This is one of those 5%. - Yeah, exactly. - Actually, yeah, I think this might be, like the official, well, first of all, you're the official first guest on the new set. - Yay. - We're not even counting Chris. We're not counting Chris. - Thank you! - Chris ain't a guest anymore. - [Joey] Chris ain't a guest anymore. - This is the first real guest episode of the new studio. - Exactly, first real guest, but also like, I think people have pointed out, in your accent or figured out from your accent that you're Australian. - Yes, I am Australian. - Yeah, and I'm like- - And you're Australian too, right? - And I literally went to school with you. - Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's so weird, it's like, yeah. - Yeah, so to explain, off screen, we just found out that these two went to the same kinda school together, and they know each other as like childhood friends or something like that. So do you guys wanna explain that? What happened with that? - Well, like the Japanese community in Australia, like the parents, they'll send like their kids to like this thing called Saturday school. So we have school on Saturdays, from around 10 to like one p.m. And then yeah, we were in different classes 'cause you were in a higher grade than I was. - Yeah, I think I'm two years older than you. - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, so, but I was in the same class as her older sister. - Yeah. - Right. - For about seven years or something. - [Shu] Yeah, yeah. - And because, and again, because the school is so small, because the community is so small, you naturally hang out with kids who are younger than you and older than you. - Yeah. - So yeah, like I would see Shu in like the playground and stuff. - It's like the meme where like, every Asian knows each other, but it's actually true. (everyone laughing) - Yeah, yeah, yeah. (everyone laughing) - In Australia. - In Australia, every Japanese person knows each other. Yeah, so like yeah, so not only did I go to, I was in the same class as her sister but like, yeah, we used to like hang out like every, not too often though, right? - Yeah not too often, but like- - But like we had so many mutual friends that I think it's just like naturally, we knew each other. - Okay. - Yeah so, and now she's an anime voice actor. - And now you both work in the anime industry. - Yeah. - Yeah, it's so weird. - It's so bizarre. - Like yeah. - I gotta ask like, in this like Japanese community, were there many people who wanted to work in the anime industry? 'Cause you know how it is with like the weeb culture, it's like, you see an anime fan and they're like, "Oh, I wanna work in anime." And like, All right weeb, all right. - [Joey] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But like, what was it like for like the Japanese community? - I don't know. I mean, I think at that point, I wasn't even really thinking about that at all. - Oh, really? - I think-- - Too busy enjoying the weeb life. - I was too busy enjoying the weeb life. - Getting involved. - Yeah exactly. So I was like, I don't know, 'cause I think even back then, like I knew I always wanted to live and work in Japan, but I think the whole anime industry side of things was just kinda like a dream. - It's just so mystical, no one knows anything about it. - Well that's the thing, right? It's like, I wouldn't, like back then, I was like, How do you even like begin to try and get into an industry like that? So it's like, if I end up working in it, it's like, cool. But like, it wasn't like I was chasing the weeb dream. Just like, I'm definitely gonna like work for Kyoto Animation when I'm older, work for Studio Trigger when I'm older. - You're like, I was on that hustle since age 10. (everyone laughing) I was on that hustle to get into the anime industry. - I was on that Sakuga grind. (everyone laughing) - Well, it's like, no, but I mean, I dunno. Did you know anybody? Like, what was it like for you? Like, did you always wanted to become an anime voice actress or whatever? - Well for me, I was like, I was like opposite to you and I was like, I really wanna become a voice actor and I'm gonna become a voice actor. - Oh you're on that grind. - Okay. - Yeah, yeah. - Okay, okay, okay. - And so, but I didn't know anyone around me who wanted to become someone who was in the anime industry. So like, for me, it was just me wanting to come to Japan to get into this industry. - Because I think the majority of the people at our Saturday school weren't even really thinking to be in Japan. - Yeah, yeah. - Right. - I think, 'cause like, even to this day, like most of my Japanese friends from that Saturday school, most of them still live in Sydney. - [Shu] Same, same. - And are just like normal, English-speaking, everyday job kinda thing so it's like, yeah. I think Shu and I are the weird ones. (Shu laughing) - We are! - I mean, I already hear the word, Saturday school and I'm like, you guys are crazy. My God, five days of school was enough for me, one more day in the weekend? Nah, get, mother, mother, I am not attending another school day, okay? - I fought like hell to get out of Sunday school. It was my biggest battle of life. - I mean, to be fair, like I personally didn't even see it as like a school. For me, it was more just like a hangout, to hang out with all my Japanese friends. - They tricked you, Joey. - Same. - They fuckin' tricked you. - Same, yeah. - They sold you on another day of school. (Shu and Garnt laughing) - I mean like again, it's not like I didn't learn anything, right? Like obviously, especially when you go to, 'cause the school we had, it started from kindergarten, so like what? You're like four or five years old. - [Shu] Yeah, no, I think so. - All the way up until ninth grade, where you're about-- - So you were brainwashed into liking it. - Indoctrinated. - Indoctrinated. I'm just hearing indoctrination here. Get 'em while they're young, build a habit, and they'll just, they'll love it. They'll learn to love it. - They'll love it, they'll love it. - It's like what? Stockholm syndrome. (all laughing) - I think that obviously, the viewers are probably wondering what are some shows that you've voiced in? Because that's probably gonna be the first thing they wanna know. - Oh yeah. - Probably we should mention that and then we could chat. - And then we can go deep dive, yeah. - Yeah, I voiced Mia Taylor from "Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS." I also voiced Warspite, Ark Royal, Perth, Mikura, and Gambier Bay from "KanKore," "Kantai Collection KanKore." - That's a big collection right there. (Shu and Garnt laughs) - I also voiced Fujiwara-san from "Asobi Asobase," yeah. - Right. - And yeah and a lot more. I'm like, I'm in like "Doraemon." - You're in "Doraemon?" - Yeah, sometimes. - I think that's the true weeb dream, right? Where it's like you're in a show that has literally shaped your childhood. - Yeah, yeah. I'm also in like "Shin-chan." - Oh, really? - You're in "Shin-chan?" - Like just a bit, yeah, yeah, sometimes. - That's so cool! - I'm gonna scream. (everyone laughing) - Like I mostly do like dogs and cats. (everyone laughing) - Hey, you're in, you're in, you're in. Run with it, run with it. - But yeah, yeah. I'm in like anime's and games and stuff like that so, yeah. - Awesome. - That's so cool. - Yeah. - I feel like you're downplaying it. You should be like, I am in anime and games. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Not like-- - That's not a thing most people can say. - I don't think you realize the literal hundreds and thousands of people who watch our show, who only dream to be in your position. - Oh, really? - Exactly. You're actual real anime voice actress, that's like most people dream to be that, and you fucking managed to achieve it, so congratulations. - I'm an anime, no, I'm a voice actor! (everyone laughing) - I am an anime. (everyone laughing) - I am anime. - I am anime. - I just wanna point out, 'cause I know the viewers are gonna point it out as well, how comically large I look sitting next to you. 'Cause I'm seeing myself on screen and I'm like, if you thought you just tuned into the newest season of "Attack on Titan" tonight, I assure you this is "Trash Taste." - It's literally the meme of like, 6'0" versus 5'11". - Especially on that camera, I look so comically large, with that perspective. - It's a wide angle, the people on the edges are gonna look bigger. - To be fair, I look, in this camera, I look massive next to Connor, so. - You are massive next to me, Joey. - I am massive. - Joey's massive. - I'm just built like that. - Trapped into your Saturday school. - Yeah. (Garnt laughing) - He's built different. - Yeah. Just come out of Saturday school like a Chad. - So you, mentioned that you wanted to be a voice actor from a young age? - Yes, yes. - When did that start then? Walk me through the process, I'm interested. - Well, like I started to, I started liking anime because my sister used to like anime, and then so I used to watch anime with her and I wanted to become a voice actor when I was in primary school. - Oh, very young then. - That's very young. - I didn't even know that was like a job when I was a primary school. - Oh really? - Yeah. - I think it was like funny acting people. - [Shu] Yeah. - I just thought the characters just existed. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. (everyone laughing) - I was like there aren't people, there aren't real people involved. - Goku's there somewhere in the world, right? Yeah, yeah, I'm sure he exists. - Yeah, like I was watching "Bleach" with my sister, and you know Hitsugaya? - Yeah. - He's voiced by Paku Romi-san. - [Joey] Yeah. - She's like a woman, and she's like voice acting a boy. - Yeah, yeah. - And so I was really like fascinated by that. And I was like, "Oh, I really wanna be a voice actor." And then from then on, I was kinda like, I told my parents that I wanted to become a voice actor in Japan. And you know like, typical Asian parents, they're like, "Um, uh, like maybe that isn't like really your"- - "You want to be an artist?" - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - "What is a voice actor? I've never heard of that job before. Do you need a degree to get it?" - Yeah, yeah. And what was interesting was that at Saturday school, I used to get super low marks, like in my test. So my parents were like, Well, you're getting such low marks in Japanese, like how are you gonna become a voice actor in Japan where it's like, you need to be really good at speaking Japanese and reading Japanese? - Right, right. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, and then so yeah, my parents were like against me, but I was like, "I wanna become a voice actor in Japan." So yeah, in high school I kind of started auditioning for like the schools, the voice acting schools in Japan. - Oh wow. - Oh, okay. - Yeah, yeah. - Like, what age in high school? - I think like 16, 17? - Wow. - So like, I would work part-time and then I'll save money and then I'll book a flight to Japan. - Oh my God. - To audition, yeah. - Damn. 16? - Damn, you are determined. - I was like, I was like working like, like four, five times a week. And then on like, during school holidays, I'll be working like six times a week or like, just when the- - Holy fuck. - You were really on that grind. - Yeah! - Yeah, shit. I was like, super like, "I wanna become..." Yeah, and then like, and a lot of the places told me that, 'cause I live overseas, it's kind of like-- - Hard. - Yeah, it's kind of hard, yeah. But then, I finally like passed the audition and they're like, "Please come to the school." And then so, I had to go to Japan. But at that time I was still in uni. - Okay. - And like my parents were like, "Well isn't it better if you kinda like finish uni and then go to school?" - Normal parent stuff. - Yeah, yeah. And so, I was kinda like, "Yeah, maybe, but no." (everyone laughing) - And so, during the holidays, I like worked more, and then I saved up a lot of money. And you know in Australia, it's like when you're 18, you can kind of decide everything yourself. So like, I kind of quit uni without telling my parents. - Oh. - I think that's like the worst thing you can do, right? It's like number one no-no. - That's like, one step away from eloping. (Shu laughing) - Holy fuck, I've never actually heard an Asian kid do that. I'm just like, I'm just, I felt that in my soul, man. Like a thousand of my ancestors just screamed right there. - You are the 1% of Asians. (everyone laughing) - Is this what happens when an Asian unlocks, like their final form? - The woke Asian! (everyone laughing) Third eye open. - I feel like I can quit. I feel like I just witnessed ultra instinct IRL, man. Jesus Christ. (Shu laughing) - And so, it doesn't stop there. Like I quit uni and then I didn't tell my parents, and then-- - But you knew you were gonna quit uni for awhile, or was it just kinda like, Fuck it, I'm doing it?" - Well, before going to uni, I was gonna, I wasn't really actually gonna go to uni, but then my parents were like, "Can you go to uni for at least one year?" - Please, please go to uni. - And then so I was like, okay. And then I went to uni for one year and then, yeah and, wait so what was the question you asked? (everyone laughing) - Like when you went into uni you were like, "Yeah, I'm not gonna stick with this?" Or was it like, you just had enough and you were like, "Fuck it, I'm gonna move to Japan?" - Yeah, I went to the classes there and I was like, nah. Like this is stupid. (everyone laughing) - Hell nah, hell nah. - Yeah, nah. - I had that idea, but I was like, "But I guess I did sign up." Like, I'm not Zuckerberg, I don't have an idea, I can't just quit. And do what? - Yeah. And then, so I booked the flights to Japan without telling my parents. - Fuck that, Jesus. - And I think around a week before the flights, I told my parents that. (everyone laughing) - See ya! - Because my parents were so against me going to Japan. - [Connor] Oh, yeah, of course, of course. - So, like a week before, I told my parents, and by then I had already like, booked the packaging. What is it like the, the people who come to take your package to send it to Japan. - [Joey] Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Like the post people? And so yeah, I told them- - Oh, so they just like showed up and they're all like, "What's all this? What's all this then?" - Yeah, yeah. - So you literally just, sorted out all of the logistics? - Yeah. - And then- - Oh my God. - One day before like the package goes, you're like, "Mom, I'm leaving." - BT dubs. (everyone laughing) - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - "By the way, Mom, going to Japan." - I have to ask, when you told them, did like boss music start playing or what? Like what happened when you told them? - Well, I think my parents weren't expecting me to like act in that way, 'cause in school, I was that girl that was like, I would like study a lot and then-- - Yeah. - Obedient. - Yeah, yeah, and then-- - Yeah, yeah. - Then actually you'd be like, psych. (everyone laughing) - Yeah, yeah. And then, so when I told her, she was kinda like, "Okay." (everyone laughing) - Just like top 10 anime betrayals in real life, right? - Yeah, right? - Yeah, yeah. - [Joey] Jesus. - Yeah, but then like, 'cause 18 in Australia is like, you're considered like an adult, but 18 in Japan, you're still considered like- - A child. - A child, right? - 20 right? - Yeah 20. - 20 is an adult, yeah. - And then, so I had booked the flights to Japan but I hadn't like, rented any like house or anything. And I was like, "Oh, I could just stay in a hotel until I can rent a house." But then after going to Japan, I realized that you couldn't book a house, like you couldn't rent a house when you're like 18 so- - Yeah. - You can't? - Yeah, you can't. - You need parents' permission. - Yeah. - Oh no. (Garnt laughing) Oh no! - And because my parents were really against me, right? They wouldn't, they'll be like, "Nah." - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - And so, I went through all my contacts and I contacted all my friends and I was like, "Is anyone in Japan? Like, living in Japan, can I like live with you?" - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah. - And then there was like one girl that went to the same school, Saturday school, and she- - The Saturday school, paying off the dividends, man. (everyone laughing) - That's what the torture was all for! (everyone laughing) It's all worth it in the end. - I'm jealous. - And then she like, luckily, she actually had a bunk bed in her room. - Mm hm. - And the reason why she had a bunk bed in her room- - What just randomly? - No, well, because, like her parents would be coming over from Australia to Japan, like once in awhile. - Right, right, right. - So, she was like, Oh, I could just, have like a bunk bed so that they could sleep there when they come. And so yeah, she was like, "Well, I have a bunk bed and if you're fine with that, then we can live together." So we lived together for awhile and then I started going to the school there. - Right. - And that's how it all kind of started. - [Joey] Wow. - That's a fuckin' bad-ass story, man. Holy shit. - Plot on movie. (everyone laughing) Jesus Christ. - That's literally like the equivalent of like the OG American dream kind of story, where you just like, you pack your bags, you go to like LA or whatever, and you just figure it out, and that's kind of what you did. - Yeah. - It was literally like, I'm on a quest to find myself. (everyone laughing) It's like that level, right? It's like, parents won't hold me back, I got this. That's so cool. - I assume, obviously having native Japanese is a big plus. I've heard that in Japan, they're really strict with like pronunciation and then voice acting has to be like perfect. - Oh yeah, yeah. I still have problems with my accent. Like sometimes. - Oh really? - Yeah, 'cause like, you know, even if a kanji, there's like so many ways of reading, like the same kanji, and then like for accents, it's like, it also depends on the sentence, like accent changes, you know. And so like, yeah, I still have, I'm still kind of learning my accent. But yeah, yeah, I'm getting used to it. - I mean, yeah, I feel that like, especially, I feel like just voice acting agencies, like anywhere, in any country is like quite high standards, but I feel Japan especially has some pretty insane standards. - Oh, because it's one of the most sought after jobs in Japan, right? - Right, yeah, yeah. - There's some huge competition for it. - Mm-hm, there is, yeah. - After YouTuber. (everyone laughing) - Of course, it is. (everyone laughing) - All the kids in Japan are like, number one, YouTuber, number two, voice actor. - Yeah, yeah. - Well, you know, you've seen loads of videos about it, of like people going into these schools, and it's like a military camp. - [Shu] Yeah, they're really strict. - And you feel so bad, because you're like all these people, most of the people are gonna have their dreams crushed because they're not gonna make it. - Yeah, what is like the kind (mug clinking) of daily routine for, Jesus Christ. (everyone laughing) What is like the daily routine for like schools like that? 'Cause like you only hear about voice acting schools in Japan but like, obviously, I don't think any of us have been to it or know anything about it. - I mean- - I'm so sorry. - Oh, its all right. It depends on the school, like some schools, you have to go there like five times a week, some school, they only have it like once a week. And I went to one that was only like once a week, and the teachers there would be really strict. And in Japanese you call it like, Taiikukai-kei. It's really like, they're really strict and like- - Right. - Yeah, so like, we do like, accent and pronunciation, and we also do like, what is it in English, like Katsuzetsu. - Oh like, - Like, so that like, you know, to fix like lisps or-- - Yeah! - Oh, okay. - To like, be able to pronounce like all syllables, correctly, I think. - Yeah, yeah. - I don't know what it's called in English. - [Shu] Yeah, I don't know what it's called. - Pronunciation? - Yeah, pronunciation I guess. - Enunciation. - Enunciation. - Oh, enunciation, enunciation. - Very, very important part. - Yeah. - People overlook. - Yeah, yeah. But then, because the teachers were like really strict, by like six months into starting school, like half of the students wouldn't, would start not coming to school. - Right. - And they'll just kinda like disappear. - Yeah. - Disappear, right. - Kinda like uni then. - Yeah, yeah. - So is it like kind of a strict process of even getting into this school? Like you mentioned, you had to audition a bunch and you have to- - Yeah. This also depends on the school, like some schools are really strict. Some schools, they're not as strict. - Mm-hm. - Right. - Because like, you learn everything at school. So like, I think they're looking for people with like nice voices or like, you know. - Right, right. - Okay. - People who have like, potential. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Did they ever like kick anyone out, they're like, "Yo, you're terrible, go home?" - Like, well the auditions, like- - Kinda like that, I guess. - Yeah. Well it's kinda like, it comes through post, like whether you passed or not. - Ah, oh, oh. - So it's like, yeah. - Oh, they don't wanna tell you in person. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's kinda like, you go to the audition and they're like, "Okay, thank you." And you go home, and then like a week later- - That's just such typical like, passive-aggressive Japanese trait, right? - You're terrible, goodbye. - Yeah, exactly. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - So how long would you typically study at the voice acting school? - I went to the voice acting school for two years, some people only go for like a year as well, so. - And you don't get any jobs in that time? It's like purely just studying? - Well, for me it was, I got a job when I was at school and that was only because I was able to speak English. - It's not common that you would get- - It's not really common, yeah. - Right. - Yeah. - I guess you have the advantage of being bilingual, right? - Yeah. - So you get like that, you get those English jobs, as well. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, I was just talking to Connor how like being bilingual in this country, or in any Asian country, if you want a job in that country, it's just like so easy. - Yeah, it is. - Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. - It's like a cheat code almost. - I mean that's, you know, one of the big reasons why I wanted to move here, right? It's because like, in Australia, no one really gives a shit if you can speak Japanese. - Yeah, that's true, that's so true. - It's like the only job you'd probably be able to get is like teaching Japanese on like, the Saturday school, for instance, right? But it's like, even then, it's like a lot of Japanese teachers in Australia don't even really speak that good of a Japanese. - Yeah. - In the alternative timeline, you are an interpreter for the president of Australia. - Yeah, right. That's probably the only like job, yeah. - Your just talking to like the president or the prime minister of Japan and Joey's behind him like, telling him in the ear. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's probably like the only like, real high-end job you could probably get if you know Japanese. But like here for example, like every company, in every field is looking for someone who speaks English. So it's just natural progression to just come here. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Exactly. - What I wanna know is like, the things you learn in voice acting school, do they specifically teach you how to sound like an anime character? 'Cause like, I've noticed obviously, as it's common sense that anime characters sound very different from how people usually speak. - Right, yeah. - So, what goes into like learning how to speak like that? - This also depends on like, which kind of teacher you have, but some teachers are based on like, acting. So they're more like, instead of like, sounding like an anime character, like they want you to focus on your acting skills. But some teachers actually do tell you, like you need to be more like, over the top. - Yeah, yeah. - Say this line, 'cause like anime characters, they're like over the top. - [Joey] Yeah, yeah, yeah. - So like, yeah, yeah, so yeah. - Okay, so you've been in school for two years, how does it then transition into being like, you're a professional now, start working? Like is that like a set end date at the school? Or is it like, they just, they're like, "You're ready now kid, go on, start acting." (everyone laughing) - "Start acting, kid." - Act, act, act. - For my school, there was like a set date that you finish school. And before you finish school, you have like auditions to get into an agency. - That's very Japanese, yeah. - Yeah, yeah. - Because I feel like in the West, they're just like, "All right, you're done. Fuck off, good luck." - Yeah. - "Make it work kid." - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - But yeah, they'll be like, staff there like, looking at you and usually you'll be handed like a script, like 15 minutes before you actually act in front of the- - Oh, Jesus. - Right. - Yeah, the people. - Oh damn, okay. - And so, yeah- - What is the point of that? 'Cause it's like, that doesn't happen on a regular job, right? - No, no. - You don't show up to the studio not knowing what anime you're gonna be in and being like, "Here's the script, you're recording in 10 minutes." - It's really common, at least in English, that you wouldn't know, you wouldn't see the script until you're actually recording it, though. - Yeah, but in Japan, it's like way, way before, right? - I mean like, for like narration or like sometimes, there's like times when they give it to you on that day, but like in regards to like anime and games, it's more like, you get several days in advance. - Yeah, because of the pre-planning stage for anime and games here is insanely long. - [Shu] Yeah. - I think 'cause that sometimes in English, they're still changing the lines while you're getting- - Oh, really? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - [Shu] Oh. - 'Cause they might change them. Or like maybe, you know, they'll change it while you're doing the lines, I've had that happen before. He goes like, "I don't like this anymore, I wanna change it." I'm like, "Okay." - Yeah, because when I did the stuff for "Pop Team Epic," they gave me the script like, four weeks before I actually went in. - [Shu] Yeah. - No NDA either, right? - Huh? - No NDA either? - No NDA. They gave me, I talked about this on the podcast, but they literally gave me a CD of the episode. - Oh, yeah, yeah, we get that. - Did they do that for you? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Is that just like a common thing? - Yeah, it's like anime recordings, right? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, yeah. You got like a CD beforehand and you check that at home and then you see how long you're like, line is. - And then you kinda like check out the timing of like when to start? - Yeah. - Did you have to like sign anything saying I won't show this to anyone? - No. - What? - That's insane! - Yeah. - Dude, the trust system here is nuts. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - That's crazy. This video is sponsored by Crunchyroll. - Crunchyroll just kicked off a new slate of anime for the summer season. Not only will the service host continuing classics like "Boruto," "My Hero Academia," and "One Piece," but this season is stacked with the return of popular series like "Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S," "Tokyo Revengers," "To Your Eternity," and "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime!" - And don't forget, you can binge watch all the episodes of the incredible "Odd Taxi," right now! (Joey screams) I've already talked about it many times, but if you're looking for another show, I highly recommend the second season of "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime." Season two is popping off and you need to watch it right now! - Way to plug your own video. (boys laughing) - But guys, shut up! Did you know there's new titles airing the season? - No! - No way! - You won't believe it. Some of the top picks include "Peach Boy Riverside" now airing. - What? - "The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!" - I love that one. - And "Fena: Pirate Princess," and the new trailer just dropped! - You can watch all these titles for free or try a 14 day free trial of premium membership, to skip all the ads and access simulcasting with Japan. Just follow the link in the description to start watching Crunchyroll now. - And, the guests that we have on today voices in some of the titles that you can find on Crunchyroll. - Just follow the link in the description below to start watching on Crunchyroll, back to the episode. - So how did you feel getting your first role? Or how was that feeling when you were just like, "Man, I'm actually like achieving my dream right now." - Well, we had an audition to get that role. And I knew that it was like an English-speaking character. and like the audition was like, you had to speak in English. - Right. - Just anything in English. - Right. And so yeah, there was like other people that were like auditioning as well. And I was like, I'm the one that's like, that can talk English the best. (everyone laughing) - Excuse me, are you (speaking in Japanese)? I don't think so, I don't think so. - Yes, I was like, "Oh, if I don't get this role, I'm gonna like, maybe this is not for me." (everyone laughing) - You're at like a clear advantage right there. - But- - You just turned up and you're like, "I've got this, I've got this." (everyone laughing) - But then yeah, like when I heard that I got the role, I was like super happy because, obviously, not many people who are still in school get a job, you know? And you know, a lot of people, even after they like graduate, they don't get jobs, right? - Yeah. - So I was like- - So just like normal university then? - Yeah, yeah, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. And so like, yeah, I was like, I was super happy 'cause I like, 'cause my first job was "KanKore," like "Kantai Collection, KanKore," and that was like a huge game, as well. So yeah, I was just like, My first job is "KanKore." Like, oh, like, oh my God, really? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, that's so cool. I mean, did your like, parents find out about it, too? Like did you tell them or? - I told them, but they're not really like into anime and stuff so they're like, Oh really? That's nice. - My parents are like that as well, yeah. - They're like, "Enjoy it while it lasts." - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Wait, so how do your parents feel about what you do now, then? - Well, now they're like more accepting and they're kinda like- - Yeah, because they're starting to see like the results. - When you get a stable income, parents are always like, "All right, maybe this isn't too bad after all. This thing makes money." - Yeah, that's literally what it was like for my parents as well 'cause they were like, when I was still doing it at home, during uni, the whole YouTube thing, they were like, "Have fun with that while it lasts." It's like, "That's a good paying hobby you got there." And then, when my dad was like, "You make more than I do per month," that's when he was finally like, "I'll allow it." (Shu and Garnt laughing) Yeah, it's like, cool, thanks, Dad. - Like do your parents know kind of what you do now? Do they understand at least what you do? - Yeah, like my sister, she kind of shows what I do to my parents. - Right. - So like, yeah, they kinda now know what I do. - That's good, that's good. - Do they that thing where like, "Wait, this is you?" - Yeah, they do, yeah! - My parents, they don't believe it. They're like, "No way that's you, you don't sound like that, I've never that voice before." - Yeah. - Like I remember when I first like, tried to explain what my job to my parents was like, "What are you, how would you make money off of this? I don't understand this YouTube thing." And then like, cut to like three years later, my dad like phones me up and being like, "I was checking your Social Blade and your last video seems to be underperforming there, Garnt. What's going on with that? What's going on?" - It's that transition from not knowing anything, not caring to know anything, to suddenly being like an analyst, right? - Yeah! I'm like, "You gained 100 less subscribers than on average for this day, what's going on? Are you paying enough attention?" - See, that's like still cute though, because like my parents are definitely not that. Like I think my parents are kind of, they went from not knowing or caring, to kinda being like caring, but still not really knowing. Like I think, when I asked my dad like what he thinks about what I do for a job, he was just like, "Oh, I don't support it, I just let you do it." - I mean, but like YouTubers, I guess it's really hard to explain to your parents like what kind of job it is. - True, true, true, yeah. - Yeah, right? I guess for a voice actor, you can just say I'm an actor. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - You can just show them a clip and be like, "That me, that me, I did that." (all laughing) - It me, it me! - That me, I did that. - Sometimes, I wished I just reviewed food so I could explain it easy to people and be like, "Yeah, I just eat, that's it." But I'm like, "Well, I don't really know." - I literally have to, my grandma to this day still thinks I'm a comedian. 'Cause that's the only way I can explain it to my grandma. It's like, yeah, your grandson is a comedian. - Sounds good. - That's just not on TV, and she's like, "Oh wow, okay, very good, sweet." - I gotta ask, going back to like the Saturday school thing and the small community, I gotta ask, did all your parents know each other, as well? Is that an Asian thing or? - I mean, think a lot of the parents did know each other, but I think that was only really like, if you kind of grew up with that kid- - Yeah. - Right. From a really, really young age. Because like we had a lot of like, childhood friends that I would grow up with that eventually would like do the same sports activities, or do the same, you know, or go to the same Saturday school, or just go to the same primary or high school, whatever. But like, I didn't really know her sister or her, or Shu all that much, to the point where our parents knew each other. - [Shu] Yeah, yeah. - Like, we had mutual like parent friends- - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - But yeah, I don't think it ever got to that way. - Yeah, because I just asked, 'cause I obviously didn't go to Sunday school, but this is how- - It's Saturday school, first of all. - Sorry, Saturday school, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. - They don't pray, okay? - We don't pray! - It's weekend school, I'm just gonna call it weekend school. - Ladies and gentlemen, The Weeknd. (everyone laughing) - Let me tell you how socializing worked in like the Thai community when I was growing up. - Sure. - 'Cause we didn't have a weekend school. - Right. - So, like every Thai parent would, for some reason, know each other within like a fucking 50 mile radius and they'd hang out and they were like, "Your kid, your kid, you're like within the same age, socialize and now make friends. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Right. And that was basically how I knew all the kids in like, my area. And is it the same in Japan, as well? Where you refer to each other as like, kinda like brother-sister, or like cousins, or like-- - I feel that's very much a Southeast Asian thing. - Okay, okay. So, it was really confusing, explaining this to Sydney because I would introduce Sydney to like a family friend, but I would introduce them as a cousin. - Yeah, yeah. - Oh. - And I would introduce my actual cousins as cousins. So Southeast Asian, like family trees, are just a fucking mess, 'cause we call everyone brother, sister, or cousins, okay? - Everyone's related. - Everyone's family, okay? - I can't relate to any of these discussions. This is not me. (Joey and Garnt laughing) - So like, when you like refer to your cousins, right? Do you say like the cousin that's not in, that's not like- - The blood related cousin. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - No, no, there's no distinction, we just call them cousin, cousin. And then I have to, and then Sydney is just like, so when they're over, I introduce a new cousin. So she's just like, Is this a cousin-cousin or just a cousin? I'm just like, It's a real cousin. But they're all real cousins. (Shu and Garnt laughing) - That's like the white people equivalent of calling everyone your uncle or aunt, right? - I guess so, yeah. - They're like, "Oh, this is your uncle." And I found out they weren't my uncle and I was like, what? (everyone laughing) Why did you lie? - I mean, yeah, like my Australian side definitely had that, where like my dad's friends would be my uncles, or like, you know, my, you know. But I don't think Japanese don't really do that. - Do they? - No, I don't think so. Yeah, yeah. - I feel, because like in Japan especially, like the concept of family is very much like closed off in a lot of senses, where it's like, you really have to be like, part of the family in order to be considered a family member. - [Garnt] Yeah. It's not like an Italian like, "Hey, brother!" (Shu and Garnt laughing) It's not anything like that, or like the whole cousin thing. - Yeah. - 'Cause like-- - I just can't get over it. Meilyne just held up a sign that just said incest. - What? (everyone laughing) - Meilyne, what is that? - Why are you holding up a sign that says incest? - [Meilyne] Because if you kiss your cousin, how do you know it's not your real cousin? - Oh, is that where Garnt's obsession for- - No, no, for fuck's sake. (everyone laughing) - Anyway, no but like, no. - I was so taken off guard by that. Who just holds up a sign that says incest? What? Guys, that's the incest cue. What is that? - Meilyne, we got a guest on today. - Jesus. - Sorry about this, Shu. - The show is definitely a great show. - You're tainting an innocent mind over here. (Shu and Garnt laughing) No, but I don't think the Japanese side really had that. Like, it was like, - I don't think so, yeah. - it's a childhood friend and that's like the extent it goes. - Yeah, yeah. - Okay. - But I feel like, yeah, definitely. Like, it's not like we couldn't make friends later on in life, but I feel like a lot of the friends you did make, especially in Sydney, with the Japanese community, a lot of it was very heavily rooted in like, how long have you known this person for kinda thing. - Is that why there're so many childhood friend characters in anime? - Yeah! - I just gotta ask it, man. - Because we pull through in real life, we- - I was the one thinking about it. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - I mean like, if your friends since like four, when you're like four years of age, you like stay friends for like forever. - Yeah, yeah. - Kind of thing, yeah. - Yeah, I did get that about like Japanese culture. It's like, I got the impression that there's like different levels of friendship within Japanese culture, and it's very hard to like, penetrate like the deeper level, unless you've known them for like a very, very long time. - Why did you say penetrate? - I don't know, okay? - It's such an odd choice of words. - That was such a hard P as well. - You were in on that. - Penetrate! - Oh my gosh! - Penetrate! No wonder they never let you in. (everyone laughing) - I don't want anything penetrating, thank you very much. No, but definitely like that whole trope of like the Osananajimi or like the- - Stop laughing, Connor. - I just can't believe it. What's this choice of words going on today, what? (Shu and Garnt laughing) - No, but like really, like that whole like Osananajimi trope in anime, I feel is very, it's like rooted in reality in a lot of ways. Because you know, a lot of my Japanese friends to this day, from Australia, are guys and girls I've known since I was just, like less than one-year-old. Or like- - Less than one-year-old? - No, like dead ass, like- - It is true. - Are you serious? - Yeah, yeah. - Because like, at least with my mom, how I got to know a lot of them was that, because again, like the Japanese community was so small. - Right. - Yeah. - The moms would go to like these like, mom-friend groups, where like moms that had kids of similar ages would come together. - Right. - So like naturally you'd, at the age of like six months to anywhere- - Hops out the vagina, it's like, "Son, let me introduce you to your best friend." (everyone laughing) - What is this? Why are you saying these oddly descriptive words today? - No, legit though, it pretty much is like that. - Oo, words. - I'm sorry. (Shu and Garnt laughing) - You could've said pops out, you didn't have to add. (everyone laughing) What's going on today? (everyone laughing) - Yeah, yeah, don't. (Shu laughing) - Like dead ass, like pop-out the vag, before I see my own father, it's like, "He's your best friend." - Yeah. - It's like that. But like my oldest friend, my oldest childhood friend to this day, who's also half-Japanese, half-Australian, who lives here now, I met before I could even walk. So like, it's crazy to think that I'm 26 now and I've dead ass known him for 26 years of my life. - Whoa. - Yeah. - So literally, when you say, "I've known him my entire life," you really fucking mean it. - I've literally known him my entire life. There is six months of my life that I didn't know him. (everyone laughing) - So you feel quite strongly then, towards someone even if you don't speak to them, even if, just because you grew up with them? - I feel it's like one of those like, concepts of like, it's the type of friends where you're like, I don't have to text you every day to know that I'm your friend, right? - I guess to me it's more like, "Oh cool, how are you doing?" - Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's one of those friends where you're like, you don't text for a year or something? - Yeah, yeah. - But you can casually, still be like, "So we're going to dinner?" - Yeah, yeah. - You know, it's like one of those friends, right? - I think if my friend messaged me and was like, and I haven't spoke to them in like years, and they were like, "Hey, can I stay at your place for X amount of time?" If it's like one day, I'm like, I guess. But if I haven't really spoke to them, I'll be like, "What if they're crazy?" (everyone laughing) What if they've gone through things? - I feel though- - What if they just don't leave? - I feel though, like you would know about that in some way, right? - Yes. - Especially because like, for us, the parents were also involved in this friendship, right? - [Shu] Yeah, that's true, yeah. - So it's like, I know my friends, like my childhood friend's parents, just as well as I know the friend, right? Because it's kinda like, I guess that's the only like, whole auntie and uncle or like cousin aspect to it, where it's like your childhood parents, oh sorry, your childhood friend's parents are kinda like your uncle or your aunt in a lot of aspects. Was that the same for you, as well? - That was the same for me, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, it's like-- - Can't relate. - Yeah, it's weird. Now that I think about it and talk about it, it's a really weird concept. - It is, yeah, yeah. - I'm envious that you can have just friends for, just like for free. - Yeah. - [Shu and Joey] For free. - No work put in. Just born, just talk. - No payroll. - It's almost like an arranged friendship. Like, your parents both agree? Yes, our children can be friends, right? - Honestly, it is pretty much like that. - The thing I get from my childhood friends are just fucking "Farmville" invites on Facebook, they just drive me up the wall. I'm like, fuck off, stop. - Well because like, a lot of, and I feel as well like, how strong of a bond you form with your childhood friend depends on how close you are or like the same types of activities that you did growing up or like, did you also go to that fucking swimming school in Sydney? - I was about to, but- - The one in Kilarni? - Yeah. - See, she knows. - What did you guys just go through your childhood, just? (everyone laughing) - She knows. - I was about to, but my parents were like, "Oh, it's too far away," and so, we didn't go. - Oh, really? - Yeah. - Yeah, so because there was this one, like swimming school, that like all the Asians would go to. - [Shu and Garnt] Yeah. - And that's also how I kind of rekindled with a lot of like, my childhood friends that I met when I was a baby. - Yeah. - 'Cause it was like, oh, the parent that I met during this like, mom circle, also takes their kid to the swimming school. And I've been thinking to take my son or daughter to the swimming school, so I'll just go to the same one that I know all the parents at. So that's like, so again, I feel like, that community is so bonded tightly that, it'd be like, oh, if that parent is doing this thing, I'll send my kids there, as well. - You could say your family. (everyone laughing) - Vin Diesel meme. - Cue "Fast and Furious," please. - Cue Vin Diesel meme. Which might be dead by the time this comes out. - By the time this comes out, it'll probably be like very outdated. - Yeah, exactly. - I'm curious, obviously, you mentioned that you are very passionate about it from a young age. But obviously, when you're not in school before that, there's only so many ways you can, I guess, practice or get experience so what did you do before that to kind of get practice? - Yeah. - 'Cause I was just doing it from my bedroom, just online, - Oh, same, same. - With like a shitty microphone. - Same. - Really? - I was like, yeah, yeah. So like, I bought like a really bad, shitty microphone. - Yeah, me too. - And then at home I'll be recording my own voice and like hearing it again and then recording it again. And 'cause like now, like voice acting, you have to be able to like sing well, as well. - Yeah, yeah. - In Japan? - Yeah, in Japan. - What? - In Japan, yeah. - What? - Like, you have to- - I'm fucked. - Yeah, like you have to like dance as well, right? So like- - Voice actresses especially- - Dance? - Yeah. - Yeah, voice actors and actresses at this day and age are basically idols. - Wow, it's like totally different in like the West. - Yeah, yeah. Like, you have to like, you're in magazines, like you have to look good like, visually. - Well, I guess that's why, like again, the competition is so intense, right? Yeah, like you said, the more idols, they're always on TV, right? - Yeah, yeah. And so yeah, like, in Australia, they don't have much karaokes, - No. - Like, yeah. And so- - There was one really like, crappy karaoke. - [Shu] Yeah, yeah, I think I know which one! But it was the closest thing we got to the Japanese style because like karaoke in Australia is a lot like in America where it's like all open mic. - Yeah. - And I'm like, that's not karaoke. - That's always been weird to me. - That's not karaoke, that's public embarrassment. - I love that. - I love that, it's great. - I hate it. - Yeah, I don't like it, too. - I hate it, I hate it. - It makes my night when someone just, godawful starts it. 'Cause I'm like, that, guy's great. That guy went up there knowing he'd butcher the song but he did it anyway. - No, but like, what if the opposite happens, right? What if like the person before you sings, like fucking amazingly, and then you're like, "Oh shit, I have to go up and do "Sexy Back." The fuck. - Fuck it. Let me go, let me go, I'll do it. - Look, if I'm gonna embarrass myself, at least I can just embarrass myself in front of my friends, right? - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - That's the way I think about it, yeah. That's why, like the concept of going to karaoke sober is just non-existent in Western countries, right? Because you're not gonna go up and sing on stage, in front of strangers, if you're not intoxicated, unless you're just an amazing singer. - Yeah. - Right. - We do that here, too. - Yeah. - But, so what, so you had to learn how to sing as well or you already sang? - Well, I practiced singing from my bedroom. - Yeah. - As everyone does. - As you do. - But that was really embarrassing 'cause my parents were against me doing voice acting, right? - "Stop singing!" - Yeah, yeah. They'll be kinda like, "Oh yeah, you can go sing in your room." But obviously, because it's not like soundproof or anything. I'm like, my really bad singing is like, resonating throughout the whole like house, so- - So you're practicing dancing as well, when you were like a teenager? - No, like I didn't really practice dancing 'cause I was more into like singing and acting. - Yeah, yeah. - Right. - But, yeah. - I'm not much of a dancer myself, either. - Well you're white. - It's really hard. (everyone laughing) - That is true. - Yeah, so with the voice acting school, did they teach you any of these other aspects of being a voice actress? Or was it just purely the voice part? - The school that I went to was just purely voice acting. - Right. - But I know like some schools teach you singing and dancing, as well. - Right, right. - Especially like, you know how I said that there was like schools where you have to go like five times a week? - Yeah. - Yeah, those are- - Five times, you're like eight hours a day or like? - I'm not really sure, but- - I assume not, like you have to live somehow. - I think when I watched the video about it, it was something like, they just go in the evening after their job. Like a lot of people would do that in Japan. They think that's normal. - That sounds about right. - Yeah. There's a lot of different, like, it always depends on the school. - [Connor] Yeah, true, true. - But yeah, some schools teach that. - So what type of voice acting were you doing in your bedroom when you're like 15, 16? - Well, I was kind of like copying characters. - Yeah. - Okay. - Like- - I feel it always starts with like impersonation. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Fandubs and stuff. - Yeah, yeah. - Who did you impersonate? (Shu laughing) - I impersonated a lot. (Shu laughing) Wait, let me just think. - Who did you impersonate other than the obvious ones? - "League of Legends" characters. Did you know how I know that? 'Cause that's what he sent in for my audition reel. - [Connor] There you go. - A "League of Legends" characters audition reel. - It's that good. And I got the job, I did not. (everyone laughing) - No, I don't know, I just copied everything. And I would do weird stuff for people who wanted, 'cause someone has to voice act these terrible stuff online. - Yeah, yeah, yeah - Like "Sims" projects and stuff. People just make "Sims" animations. - Oh, "Sims." - With "Sims." And I would just have to do the voice and I hated it. But I was like, well, I wanna voice act, but I don't like the project. - 50 bucks is 50 bucks, right? - I didn't get paid, are you kidding me? No one got paid! I was using like a headset microphone, it sounded like, (Connor imitating static) it's terrible but you love doing it, so you just keep doing it. - Yeah, of course, of course. - Until you can buy a good microphone. And even then you're like, "Google, how do I remove static? Loud static, how to remove?" - Did you do that? - Yeah, yeah. - Your dusty noise-canceling function. - It's terrible, it doesn't work at all. - Yeah, 'cause like back when I was like newly into the anime community, there was a big, like online voice acting community, when I first got into the anime community. - Oh, right, right. - Was that still a thing when you were trying to be a voice actress? - No, I don't think so. - Really? - So yeah, does Japan not have like an online scene for voice acting where they just voice act in stuff online? - I think some people do like voice act online, and some people actually like voice act on Niconico. - Yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - But I didn't really participate in that 'cause I was kinda like, oh, like. Well, when I was in Australia, my Japanese wasn't as fluent. Like it was really like, it sounded like an Australian was talking in Japanese. - Yeah, I get that. - And so I was like, oo, like, I don't have much confidence so I kind of practice more from home. - Okay. - Yeah, I was like, I was copying Hanekawa from "Bakemonogatari." - Nice. - Yeah, and all those kind of practice. I was practicing animals too, like- - Animals? (Shu and Garnt laughing) - So you tried to get the animal roles, as well? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean on the- - I just imagined practicing animals, you shouting at a dog. (Connor barking) - Yeah, like 'cause on the internet they're like, it's important as a Japanese voice actor to be able to voice act animals as well. - Do you have to audition for animal roles? - For me, it was kinda like, I already had it in my voice reel, and so- (Garnt laughing) - You're the go-to, you're the go-to. - And so yeah, they picked me from there but- - Wait, like what kind of animals? Like just dogs, cats? - Like dogs, cats, yeah. - I guess that's the majority, right? - And birds. - Wait, I'm so curious, what was your process in like, practicing for that? - I'll just like endlessly watch animals on YouTube, and then I'll kinda like copy the animal. Yeah, and that was what I did. - There's people who have demo reels for like monster-creature demo reels. - Oh, yeah, yeah. - Oh, yeah. - Or just like monster noises. - Yeah. - And like weird sounds that human bodies shouldn't make. - I guess someone's gotta voice them, right? - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, exactly. I mean, there's probably a demand for that. Like there's always shit that needs growling. - Can you do some animal voices right now? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. A Dog? - Yeah. (Shu barking) - That's very loud. - I'm sorry. - It's very loud. - Sorry. - No, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting it, it was great, it was great. - It was great, it was great. - Oh my god. - I can do a cat as well. - Okay, do it. (Shu meowing) - That's a cat. - That's pretty fucking good. - That's pretty good. (Shu laughing) - That's really good. - Well, I mean, if we said it was shit. (everyone laughing) Nah, it doesn't sound like a cat. Why would they hire you? - We'll just send you a passive-aggressive letter later. Just being like, it wasn't very good. - You'll receive a letter in your post. - I wonder if there's like any viewers watching right now who has a cat in the background who just like. (Shu laughing) - [Joey] Yeah, right. - Who's throwing hands? Who's throwing hands? - The dog is just losing it. (everyone laughing) - Yeah, yeah. - That's so cool. - This video is sponsored by Manscaped. - The sun's out, bums are out, and hopefully your pubes are not out. Also, flip-flop season is upon us and you're out here with those post pandemic toenails? Don't worry, our friends at Manscaped have you covered. They just launched their fourth generation Performance Package and The Shears TM 2.0 Nail Grooming Kit. 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Tame the summer swamp in your pants with Manscaped TM. - Back to the episode. - Your balls will thank you. - So, I'm assuming it's gonna be different, but what is the process like in voice acting in Japan for auditioning. - For auditions, well the auditions come to your agency, and then the agency will pick someone that's suitable for the role, and there'll be like, there's like two stages. There's like tape audition, and there's a studio audition. And tape audition is where you just send your voice in to the people who make the anime, and stage audition is when you actually go in front of all the directors and like the people who make the anime, if that makes sense. - Okay. - Yeah. - So how many people will be there, normally? - Depends on like the anime, but I don't know. Like sometimes there's only like 25, 20, five, 10, 20. - Only 20? What? - Sometimes there's like more, there's like- - What? - Yeah. - Wait this is the staff, right? - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - 20 staff members? - Oh, no, no. Oh, you mean staff members? - Yeah, sorry. - I was gonna say, I was like- - Staff members, it depends. But sometimes it's like- - It's like before the artist, just stand there. She's got a good voice. - Not gonna mention the accent. - But sometimes, there's like around, usually, there's around five people, but sometimes, there could be like 10 or like maybe even more. - Wow, like judging and like? - Judging, yeah. - Wow. And then there's about 20 to 30 auditioning? - Yeah. - Is that for one character or? - Yeah, sometimes for one character. Like sometimes, the anime people they'll take like a whole day auditioning, like several characters. And, this was like pre-COVID. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - But yeah, there'll be like, there'll always be like people waiting in the waiting room and then- - Oh God, you're all like, "Oh yeah, you're going for the part, too?" - [Shu] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Before you walk in, you just. (everyone laughing) - And it's like, because they're holding the scripts, right? And they're kinda like practicing it in their mind- - Is there like big tension in the room? - Yeah, there is. - Oh! - It's like super quiet. (boys groaning) - That's so nerve-wracking! - Yeah, and you see someone holding the same script as you are, and you're like. (everyone laughing) - You know, 'cause there's like people in movies like, "I'm gonna get it," like people who turn up really cocky, too. Is anyone ever like that? Who's like, "I've got this, go home." - No, because even like the really famous voice actors, they audition to get the same, like the roles, as well. - So, you might turn up and they might be like, a triple A-- - Yeah. - Oh my god, that's terrifying - But, the good thing about this job is that, it's not always- - Guaranteed. - Them that get the job, right? It's like the person who suits the voice, like the character best. So yeah, it is really nerve-wracking though, when they're like in front of you and they're like practicing their script, then you're like- - Oh, I see. You've been in a situation where you were in like, auditioning for the same role as a massive voice actor. - Yeah, yeah. (boys exclaiming) - That's so scary. (Shu and Garnt laughing) - And it's like, it's so nerve-wracking just to like act in front of like all the staff members making the anime. And then there's like this huge like, someone you've known since like ages ago and like someone- - You're probably a fan of. - [Shu and Garnt] Yeah, yeah. - Like you've had like posters of them up on your room or something like that, right? - Yeah. - So yeah, it's really nerve-wracking and yeah. - That's like so different from how they do it in like the English anime. - Oh, really? - Because when they're dubbed, they have to be dubbed like pretty fast. - Right. - So they can't like, they never hold open auditions. It's been a very, very long time. I think, they'll be like, "Hey, we know that you're good at what you do, try for this character." And you just recorded an audio clip and send it in. And that's it, there's no like another one. Sometimes there is, but it really depends on the thing. - Wow. - It's really fast. That's why there's normally like less actors, I guess, compared to Japan because it's normally, you have to be kind of established to get a chance. It's kind of difficult. - Right. - Yeah. - Wow. - How many auditions do you have to go through? Or like for different series before you normally land a single role? - Well, in the industry they say like auditions, it's like normal to like, not pass in audition. So like, they say if you take 50 auditions, if you get into one, then that's like, like you're still on the good side. - Jesus. - You're still on the lucky side, you know. - I heard it's like 40:1. As the ratio. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Far out. I suppose if you're like, competing against 20 other voice actresses. - Some people just spend all day from their home, just on like voices.com, sending in like fucking hundreds, all day. Drives me insane. - And yeah, it's really like, 'cause like, when you get the audition, you wanna know more about the character, and you wanna know more about the manga or like, whatever it's based on. So like, you read all these manga and you take your time like, understanding the character and stuff like that. And so yeah, it's like, when you don't pass, it's like, oh, I didn't like pass it. - Yes, sometimes I try not to get too invested because I feel that if I've read the manga, and I feel like I know this character, I can do it. Why didn't I get it! And then you've got to go to the next one. And it's, you know, actually quite difficult. So how do you kind of keep that detachment level there? - Well at first, I was like, I felt really down when I didn't pass- - Of course. - Of course. - Yeah. But then now it's kinda like, you need to take, like, you just keep like dropping, like, not passing. - It's like, understandable. Have a nice day. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - You've just gotta grow a thick skin, I suppose. - Yeah, yeah. - Just to like, it's nothing personal, right? - Yeah, yeah. - Nothing personal, kid. (all laughing) - So you mentioned, obviously, that's not the normal process right now because of COVID. - Yes. How is it different now because of COVID? - They used to, you know how I said that they used to like call in people for studio auditions? Now it's more like, you have the tape additions and you get chosen from there, or they choose someone they're like, they don't have auditions at all. And it's kind of like, they already choose someone to- - Oh it's like, we want you to voice this character. Will you take it, kinda thing. - Yeah. - But you have to send another tape still? - It depends on the- - Oh, so they just, they're just scouting now, then? - Yeah, sometimes they just scout you. Sometimes you have auditions. And when they do have studio auditions, it's more like you're brought in one by one. So it's like, you know. - So there's no like the, there's no stand-off anymore? - Yeah, there's no thing thing, yeah. - I feel that's better for mental health of voice actors. - Probably, probably. - But that normally doesn't give a lot of chance for, I guess, new talent to- - True, true. - Get seen 'cause you, I mean, that's how they get seen, right? If you have to be established or scouted, it's quite difficult to get seen. - Yeah, like how does that work for like the English side of things? 'Cause it's like, it sounds fuckin' impossible for like new talents to get noticed. - [Shu] Yeah. - I mean, you have, normally, you have to be recommended. Like someone would be like- - It's just who you know, kind of thing. - I mean, it's sad, but yeah, kind of. I mean, you know, there is ways, but normally it is through recommendations and someone will be like, "Hey, I need this kind of voice. Does anyone know someone who can do this?" So like I got recommended to stuff just 'cause they were like, we need British. Because obviously since COVID, a lot of anime dubs now, the ones that are airing, like weeks after- - Right. - Are done all online. - Oh wow, really? - There's quite a few, actually, have been done just from home studios. - So they just record at home? - At home, yeah. - Wow, wow. - But you have to have like a good internet connection and you have to have a sound treated room. - Right. - Which, I think, when COVID hit a lot of the big, more established voice actors, just you can order those like, they have them in Japan as well, the home office booths. - Oh, one of those things. - Oh, yeah, the small like-- - [Garnt] Like the sound proof- - It's like a tiny, it's horrible to, because you get so hot and you can't have the AC on, obviously, 'cause you're in this tiny room, you're like sweating on a call. And then as soon as you get screaming, it's like terrible. - Right. - Yeah. - So yeah, yeah a lot of it now, especially now, it's quite bad for like discoverability. Yeah, you kind of have to have recommendations. - Yeah. - But I, yeah, you can audition for stuff still. But again, to get the auditions, you have to be recommended. - Yeah, it's it's about who you know, I guess. - [Shu] Yeah. - Yeah. - That's tough. - So in Japan, to even be considered for an audition, do have to have formal training or they won't allow you? - No, not necessarily. It's like most of the time you have to be in an agency. So like, just like to get into the agency, obviously they look at people who have good acting skills, right? So people in an agency would have like the basic acting skills. - Yeah, yeah, normally. - From- - The agent wouldn't sign you. Right, they wouldn't go, "I guess we can get you work." - And then so yeah, like the manager picks who they want to- - Manage? - Let, yeah. - Yeah, so the manager picks who they want to put forward for the additions? - Yeah, yeah. - They'll be like, "Hey we need these voices. Oh, okay, I think these guys are good, take 'em." - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah. - So like what's the daily life of like, a Japanese voice actress? And do you do more roles than auditions? Or like, how's the balance going? - It's like, you do auditions, true. But like, once you start getting the hang of your job, it's kinda like you have like recordings for like, games and other stuff that you did from awhile ago. So just like continuous recordings and stuff like that. And so, yeah. It's like you do auditions, but at the same time you have like continuous recordings. - Yeah, so once you establish yourself, it's a lot easier because you got a lot more stuff going on then? - Yeah, yeah. - Okay. Okay. - How was it like, 'cause I've done the whole, it's called afureko in Japanese, but like the recording session. I guess that's one massive difference between the West and Japan, is that in the West, it's one at a time. - [Garnt] Yeah, yeah, yeah. - [Joey] Whereas in Japan, it's altogether, all at once, right? - Yeah. - You've probably done it next to some pretty notable people. - Yeah, yeah, it's pretty crazy. - And how is that? - Like, well, it's really nerve-wracking. 'Cause like now they record it a little bit differently, but before they used to have like 30 people, 20 to 30 people in like a room in a studio and you will be kind of recording the anime at the same time. And so there'll usually be like four microphones and all the actors will be using that microphone, like between each other. - Yeah. - And so obviously, if like someone who's bigger than you, like you'll senpai, is using a mic, you can't like barge in and like, use that mic. So you know. - My turn! - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Let me show you, old timer. - Yeah, so you have to like look out for your senpais, as well. And you have to like act properly, as well. and- - That sounds so stressful. Oh my God. - Yeah. - I just wanna work. - Just relax. - But it's so cool when like a bunch of like super established voice actors are doing it 'cause like there's, I think there's this really famous YouTube video of like all the main voice actors for "One Piece." - Ah yeah. - Doing a seen where all of the Straw Hat Crew is like talking in a scene. And they're just so fluidly switching between microphones, when roles come up and stuff. Because like, what I did as well, is that like, just because you're not on the microphone, it doesn't mean you're not acting because a lot of the times people who aren't on the microphone are used for like crowd noises. - Yeah, yeah. - Or just passersby and stuff like that. And it's like, so you're constantly just being recorded. - That's good to have that energy, right, as well, when you're trying to act? To have someone kind of providing the feel of the scene to you, you know? - Yeah. - I feel like that's why "KonoSuba," especially, worked really well because you hear like, you hear the original Japanese dub of it and it kind of like, you can tell that the actors and actresses are just bouncing off each other really naturally. - Right. - And it's like hard to tell, it's actually some points where it's hard to tell if it's actually scripted or just like completely improvised sometimes. - They used to do a lot more for English productions, but scheduling is a nightmare. - Yeah. - And traveling. For stuff like, you know, like a Disney movie, if you have like all these AAA actors, it's impossible to get them all in the same room at the same time. But some movies and some shows still do it. It used to be a lot more common, but now it's not really, it's not that as much. - Yeah, 'cause I've seen footage of like "Toy Story" and stuff like that. Like all the actors for "Toy Story" were all in the same room. - Wow! - like kinda in a semi-circle and they all just had like a mic and like a stand for their script. - Oh, okay. - Just all do it all at once. - It's normally the more expensive the production, the more you can do that. - That makes sense. - Right, right. - If you have more money, you can tell, "Hey, come in, I'll..." For movies they'll always do like a table read, right? The actors will come in and they'll just practice it together. Even if they're not recording together. - Yeah. - Stuff like that. - The scary thing is, 'cause like, once the anime recording starts, it's like, you have to like stay silent even when it's not your turn to speak. So like, even when you're reading the script and you know it's not your turn and you want to like turn the page over, you have to be really careful not to make any sound. And like- - Stealth turning page. - Yeah, and like when you walk up to the microphone, you can't make any sound. So like, even with your clothing, it has to be something that doesn't make sound. So like- - Oh yeah. - You can't be wearing like leather jackets and like that. - Could you imagine, it's just like? (Joey imitates squeaking) Hello! (all chuckling) - They used to have a box just full of really old t-shirts. - Really? - At one of the studio's I worked at, and they were just like, if you wore anything that wasn't a t-shirt they were like, put the t-shirt. - Wow. - Right. - That doesn't sound sanitary. - Well it was, you know. - Just wearing someone's sweaty t-shirt. - They washed them. But it was just like, "Don't bring anything that isn't a t-shirt because it makes too much noise." - Yeah. - Makes sense. - And like, don't have keys in your pocket or anything like that. Like just empty your pockets. - I'd hate to be that guy who just like came on and was like, "Shit, I need to sneeze right now." (all laughing) - And I feel that like, the pressure is even greater because it's like, if you fuck up a line for instance, then all the actors are there to kind of like. - Yeah, so what happens if someone flubs their line? I mean, that happens. - Well, because we're recording, like, I think we record like each 15 minutes of an anime, if that makes sense? - Yeah. - So like, if you mess up your line, you just stay silent and just back away and then- - Have you ever done that? - Yeah. (boys groaning) It's so like, it's like- - Stupid, stupid, stupid. - I could see like the PTSD in her face as she was like telling the story. I was like, oh, she she's experienced this. - It's like, if you mess up, you can't say like, oops, or anything like that. You just have to like, stay silent so the person after you can say their lines. And so like once- - Oh! So they can just like cut your part, right? - Cut it, yeah. - Oh okay, that makes sense. - And then they can take it again after the whole 15 minutes is like recorded, right? - Oh yeah. - So, and it's really hard because when you first start voice acting, right, the director tells you like, "We want that line said more like this way," or like, "In a different way to what you did." And if you're not like able to like, say it like how the director wants you to say it, you like, take it again and again. But you're taking it again and again right in front of all your senpais. So like you're taking their time, and the director's like, "We want it more like this way." And you're like, "Okay, I'll try my best." And so, yeah, it's really- - That's so nerve-wracking! - Oh yeah. - That's, that's like two, that's like pressure on top of pressure. - Yeah. - Right? - You're already pressured to be like, I'm gonna nail my line just so I can put on a good performance. - It's sort of like the teacher going, all right, what's the answer? You, you, you specifically, what is the answer to this math question? You don't know? Come on, you can do it, come on. Come on, come on. - We'll all wait until you figure it out, right? - Have you ever had the director explain how they wanted you to do the line differently, and you're like, what? I, that does not make any sense. - Yeah, when I was first, like in an anime, one of the directors told me, like in Japanese, they said, (speaking in Japanese) and yeah. And I was like, 'cause I was. - What does that mean? - It's like- - (speaking in Japanese) is like, like soft sword fighting. - Yeah. - Oh, okay? - With like, yeah. So basically like play sword fighting. - Yeah, yeah. - So it's like, sound more play sword fighting. - That's so specific. - Yeah. And I was like, and at that time I was like, I didn't know the word (speaking in Japanese). (all chuckling) - Got you, chief. - It would be so awkward to ask the director, what does (speaking in Japanese) mean, right? - Yeah, yeah. - So I was like, "Okay, I'll try my best." And so I asked the person next to me who was around the same age as me, - Yeah. - like, what's (speaking in Japanese). And she told me and I was like- - And it still didn't make any sense. - Yeah. - What the fuck does that mean? - Yeah, yeah. - So, what does that mean? Like, how did you? - Did you find out what he wanted? - I'm not sure. (all laughing) - To this day, I've wondered what the take should've been. - But I got an okay. So I guess I was able to, you know. - Was that an okay or was that like, okay. - Oo, oo. - Right? It could be either one, right? - Yeah. - Yeah there's a, when you're doing lines, sometimes there's that feeling of like, you're not getting it, and then you just, you know personally you're not gonna get it. And then they're just like, "We'll just move on." And I'm like, no! - Yeah. - Why, tell me! - Yeah, I get that feeling. - Have you ever like said a line that you've just been like, that was an awful take. And the director's been like, "All right, we're moving on, that was a good take." - Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've had that a lot. - Okay. - That's why I usually say like, fuck, at the end of my line if I hated it. But then they would tell you to stop saying fuck, because you're ruining the line that they liked. You'd be like, da-da-da-fuck! Because then you couldn't use it. - Are you the type of voice actor that watches the anime that they were in after it like finishes and airs and everything? - Yeah. - To like look back on? To kind of learn from? - Yep. - 'Cause I cannot do that. - Really? - Like I hate hearing myself in voice acting roles because I get kind of secondhand embarrassment from it. - Right, yeah. - 'Cause I always, I'm so harsh on myself all the time. So when I hear myself on like a game or an anime, I'm always like, I could have done that line like 10 times better. Why did they have to use that one? - Yeah, I know how you feel. - That's good, though, right? Like you know that you could improve. - Yeah, yeah. - It's good, but it's also like, when people tell me being like, "Oh, I heard you in the game," then I'd be like, I don't know how I sound in that. So it's like, I can't even like talk about the role that I'm in. - Yeah. - Because I just don't know how it turned out, right? - But there's a lot of like big anima voice actors that are like that, as well. - Yeah, yeah, it's like, I mean, like hearing your own voice after it's like, 'cause like you record it and it's aired several months after you've recorded. So obviously like several months after, you're kind of like, you've like brushed up on your acting a little bit more than what you had before. So like hearing again, it's like, oh, like I didn't say that line properly. And I'm really strict on myself, as well. So it's kinda like, I look like (groans), but then like I think it's really important to like kind of look back. - Reflect? - Yeah. - I think the thing that everyone always says the most when they try and start voice acting is like, they hate their own voice. They can't stand it. And it's just a thing you have to like, I mean, personally, I just think that if you learn to like be able to listen to your voice and not just recoil in disgust, you can then start breaking it down and being like, okay, I didn't do this that well. Right, you can start really focusing on what you're doing wrong. - But isn't it weird that I'm okay with hearing my own voice in YouTube videos? - It's just different. - Oh, really? - It's 'cause you've heard it so many times. - Because when you're acting, you're trying to do something like you're trying to perform. - Right. - But YouTube it's just you. - Yeah, yeah. - Hi, I'm being me I'm being an idiot. - That's true, that's true. - It's just life. - I mean, I feel though in a lot of my roles, like, 'cause I'm not trained or anything like that, right. I just do it 'cause I like it and I'm given the opportunity. But like the "Pop Team Epic" one, for instance. - Yeah. - I played a New York mayor. (all laughing) - Really? - And I cannot do a New York accent. So, dead ass if you watch like the actual episode that aired, it's like the most Aussie-sounding fucking New York Mayor. - It is, it is. - I'm the Mayor of New York. - I just love that idea that you did the take and the director was like, "It's perfect." - Yeah, yeah. - You're like, "No, please, please, please." - Yeah, yeah. I did it, I did the first take just thinking like, we're going to kind of get like a gauge of like how not good my New York accent is. And I actually gave up halfway. I tried to do like an American accent. But at that point, especially, I was like my New York accent, or my American accent is not that good where like I can confidently act in that accent. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Like I can try and speak casually, right. But acting in another accent is a completely different set of skills. So I was like, I'm just gonna like subtly turn it off. Like just turn the gauge down as the recording goes on. So by the end of it, I was just like, "Yeah, New York!" It was like the most Australian-sounding New York. - Yeah, I remember seeing that and I was just like, I feel like he's about to drop the C-bomb. 'Cause as an Aussie, when's it coming? When's it coming? - No, but it was so funny because like I thought for sure, I would get some pointers being like, "All right, you started off good, but you kind of depleted near the end. Let's do another take or like, let's try that line again," or something like that. Fully expecting it. The director was like, "All right, you're good!" - Yeah, but the director didn't speak English, right? - No. - Oh, well, then- - So he thought I was like perfect New Yorker accent. It's like, yeah. That's that's what all people in New York sound like. - I can't blame him, though, because he doesn't know. There's no way he'd know, right. - Yeah, exactly. - But in Japan, it's like, when you go to recordings, it's like, when you talk in English, it's like, they expect you to speak in an American accent, but you know, 'cause I'm from Australia too. So it's like, yeah, I try. - You never practiced your American accent when you were practicing? - Well, yeah, like I'm practicing now. - Okay. - But it's still really hard to like, I don't know, like pronounce all these words. - American English goes everything against Australian. - Yeah, yeah, I know. I mean, I can't do American accents. - We have to like contort our faces in ways that we wouldn't. - Yeah, yeah. - Just the rrr sound is so like, ugh. - Yeah, like card? Card, card? - Yeah, card. Card and-- - Well it like, the British Australian English, like the tongue is like towards the front of the mouth and in American English it's like flatter in the back. And that's like really hard to do when you're British, because you're like, why do I have to force my tongue down. - You just sound like you're kind of drowning half the time? - Yeah, yeah. I think, you know, mine sounds shit. Like, I barely can. - I mean, I'm much better at it now since then, because I practiced, but I mean, I still couldn't confidently do like an American English role. But I feel like, I don't know, just from like watching the anime recently, where like we are starting to get more like English speaking roles done by actual native people. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - I feel like I've noticed like, I think finally anime directors and producers are like, "Different accents in English exist." - In Japanese dubs or? - In Japanese dubs. - All right. - But even in the English dubs, as well, because like a lot of the English dubs are also overseen by the original directors and producers. So it's like, I feel like they're finally starting to realize like, "Oh, we can't just get anyone who can speak moderately good English. If we need an American role, we need to get an American speaking person." - Yeah, I did an American voice for a film. The one that like Charlie Cr1TiKaL is in? - Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like the killer, but I wasn't credited! - You weren't credited? - Oh really? - I think they forgot. I had to tell them, seriously. - Oh my god. - So yeah, I was the voice of their like killer. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - And it's this like really raspy, deep, scary voice. - Like American accent. - And they were like, "We want you to do..." And I'm sitting there, I remember that we were having the, I was having the call with the people who were making this film, and they were telling me about this role. And then this has gone on for like half an hour and they mentioned, "Oh yeah, he's American." And then at the end of it, I was like, "So like the accent, I don't know if you noticed, I'm not American." (all laughing) I was like, "So what'd you want me to do?" And they're like, "Well, he is an American. So could you do American?" And I'm like, "I can, but it won't be good." - Right. - So I did it. - I feel, though, your American accent is probably better than most, right? Because I feel, I don't know. - When I do deep voices it's easier, 'cause the mouth shape is easier. But, it's still shit, it's still shit. - But I feel like-- - You would laugh at me. - But I feel like a lot of British actors, for instance, are usually pretty good at nailing the American accent. - There are so many British or just like, actors not from America that you don't know aren't from America until it's outed. But then you switch, you swap to the other way around with Americans doing like British accents. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Right, right. 'Cause like how many people think, if they watch like "Batman" for me instance, right? Like Christian Bale and Gary Oldman, are both not American. - Yeah. - Christian Bale is Welsh, right? - Yeah Christian Bale is Welsh. - Wow. - Right? - Yeah, I'm pretty sure he was born in Wales. - And Gary Oldman is very British. So it's like, it's just incredible to think that a lot of people just don't know. - Chris Hemsworth, as well, is like an Aussie. - Yeah, Chris Hemsworth is an Australian. - He's the most fucking Aussie-guy I've ever seen. - But he nails the American accent. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - I think, yeah, 'cause they teach, they train British actors different to American, it's a lot different ways of learning acting. So I feel like that has a lot to do with it. Because like British are more focused on like stage acting. - Right! - Right. - And learning that aspect of it. - Like theater training? - Yeah, yeah. And being more like classically trained. So it's a bit different, I don't know. - And I also feel like if you're going into acting, you kind of need to learn how to do an American accent because that's where most films are made, right? But it's just not the same, the other way round. - True. - I hate doing an American accent. You always have to do it for things. It sucks, I hate it. Just let me use my British accent. - Right, just give me like an Australian character? - I've never seen an Australian character before. - No, me neither. Wait, the one time where I was like, oo, I might have a chance is like, what was it? "The Free," like was it a movie? Or like season two. - Oh yeah! - It was based in Sydney! - Yeah, it was, it was. - And so I was like, I was waiting for that phone call. Being like- - Joey finally made it. - Is it my time to shine? - My time to shine. - My time to shine in the Australian accent? Never happened. - They did it, did they speak, they spoke English in it, right? And it was like terrible. - Yeah, but they get hired non-Australian actors and actresses, so I'm like- - Yeah. - Missed opportunity there. - I'm right here. - Yeah. - I'm right here. - I'm literally right here. Me and Shu are right here. - Two people right here. - What does the author like? - Just hit up that fucking Saturday school. - Yeah, exactly! (laughing drowns out Garnt) - What do you think of the bad English in anime, as somebody-- - Well, I know people who who've been asked to like talk in English when they're not like, you know that talented. - Is the director's just like, "You should just do it." - Yeah, they kind of like, well, they're like try your best, but you know. And obviously the actors are trying their best. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - I just feel like it's an unfortunate situation. - Yeah, yeah. - It's just kind of like, aw. I guess they had to, but. - Like a lot of my friends ask me how to pronounce stuff. 'Cause they're like, I don't know how, like, they pronounce the sentence and stuff like that. So yeah I think it's just really hard for them to pronounce something that they're not used to pronouncing. - Do they ever worry about how it's perceived by like a foreign fans? - Yeah, they do. They're like, you know, I tried my best, but it's like, I don't think it sounds like native. - Aw. - I feel bad laughing at the "Kuroko" no Basuke. - What the lunchtime rush one? - "Kuroko" no Basuke when they go to America. - Oh yeah, they go to America! I completely forgot. - And everyone's American, but everyone's Japanese. Like it's, it's a trip. - Well, I mean, it's like the English in "Devilman Crybaby," as well, right? - Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. - And I have to do (speaking in Japanese) next to that guy. - Oh really? - Yeah. - It was Murase Ayumu. - Oh yeah. - And it's like, yeah, I mean- - I mean, it's not a win, no one wins there. - Well yeah, no one wins. I mean like his English was probably the most decent out of like all the other actors. But like I had the exact same thing like during break, like all the actors were coming up to me being like, how do you pronounce this? Or like, how do I make this sound as fluent and like naturally speaking as possible? And I'm just like, dude you're asking the wrong person. This is set in New York. I'm not even doing the accent correctly. Why are you asking me? Like, I'm struggling to say the letter R. - You should've been like, "I'm walkin' here." - "I'm walkin' here!" - Just say that. That's what everyone says. That's the meme, that's the meme. - Just give him a copy of every Martin Scorsese film. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - God. - Jesus. - Have you ever been recognized in Japan for your voice work? Like someone's spot on the street is like, "Oh my god, I know you." - Oh, I haven't had that before, but I've had someone ask me like at a cafe, like when I was checking out, I've had someone ask me if I was a voice actor and- - What just randomly? - Yeah, just randomly. - They could just feel the voice acting aura from you. - Maybe? I don't know, like, yeah. And so like, it was like a young male guy and he was like, yeah, like, "Do you by any chance to do voice acting?" And I'm like- - Is that like a pickup line in Japan? Bro, that voice got me acting up. - Are you a voice actor? - I'm about to senpai your voice. - "My Queen, are you the voice actor?" - "My Queen, do you happen to be a voice actor?" - Says one word, "My Queen, I will simp for you." - Did you go to the checkout and say, like it in a voice actor way? Did you start barking, or? You're a cat? - No, or maybe did I? I don't know, maybe I did. - Give like the anime reaction lines. Like, eh? - Hontouni? (all laughing) - You can have a point card. Hontouni! - So, for like everyone watching, who maybe want, aspires to be a voice actor or actress, what do you think it takes to be one professionally in Japan? - I think it's like, obviously you need like your acting skills, but I think it's more like being able to communicate with the people around you and like, yeah. Like, 'cause if you have a manager, then you have, you have to be in good relationships with your manager because they're the ones picking who to push forward for the audition and stuff like that, right. And you'll have to be like doing good with, the voice actors around you and your senpais and yeah, I think that's really important. - So it's just social politics, isn't it? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - That's how it always is, though. Like the entertainment industry is always who you know, and who you're friends with, right? It's a bit unfortunate. I mean, even YouTubing is like that, right? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - True, true. - It's who you're friends with, you know? - I feel that's just like, but I feel especially like that on top of how already socially, politically, like charged, I guess Japan is just in general. - [Shu] Yeah, mm hm. You have (speaking in Japanese) and all that kind of stuff on top of, like- - It's so hard. - In the entertainment industry. - Yeah, I'm always like, 'cause like, even towards your senpai, right. You have, you want to be like, if you want to become good friends with like that person, like, it's just so hard to decide how polite you have to be towards them. - Right, 'cause he don't want to seem like a kiss ass. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - 'Cause like, it's that fine line- - Just rolling the dice. - Yeah! - It is, it's like you don't- - Oh, sorry, go ahead. - No, no, I was about to say, it's like, it's that real fine line between, showing that you respect your senpai, but also not kissing their butt. - Yeah, yeah. And obviously, because like, you know, in Japanese, if you're too polite, it's like, you know. - What's wrong with you? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Chill out, bro. (all laughing) - So that's really hard. - Was that something you just had to learn on the job I'm guessing, right? - Yeah, it was really hard. - 'Cause I guess like moving from Australia to here, like the social dynamics is just so different from like, from moving into Australia, like we're more, I'd say Western kind of mentality, to Japan, which is like very, very, very, very different, very, very, I don't know what the word I'm looking for here is. - It's like, if Japan is kind of like a pyramid scheme, Australia is just like. - Do you mean just a pyramid. You just did. - If the social, okay, let me rephrase that. - It's the social multi-level marketing that we're selling here. - If Japan, socially, is like a pyramid. - Hierarchy, that's- - Like a hierarchy, right. That's the word we were looking for. If there's a pyramid, then Australia is just, everyone's kind of on the flat surface. - [Shu] Yeah, yeah. - It's like you refer to your boss by your name. Whereas like if you did that in Japan, instantly fired. - Yeah. - Really? - Yeah. - Or would it be a power move? - No! - Just like, damn this guy is good, get him a role. - No, definitely not. Definitely not. - I'd love if they did like, you can let the top (speaking in Japanese) can they just be like, what's up, to the director? - Oh, some people are. - Like the legends go like, hey, what's up? - Yeah, yeah. - I feel, though, that takes- - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - A huge risk, yeah. - 'Cause there seems to be so much, I mean like voice actors here, like very, very famous ones are seen as like, almost like gods. - They're like the top celebrities, really. - Right, right, right. - I wonder if that, in the work environment, it kind of means they could just walk up and be like, "Yo, I own this place." - I'm sure some of them, you know, like with that much, fame and power, I'm sure some people would get cocky. - 'Cause one thing I noticed I was looking on on Twitter, right, and the voice actor for Jonah has like 1.2 million followers on Twitter. I'm like, holy shit. That's a whole, and it's, he's Japanese. - Yeah. - So like the market is only really Japan. And I guess people who like JoJo, but like that is a lot of followers. - Like 1,000,000 in Japan is the equivalent of like 10,000,000. - Yeah, yeah. - It's insane, like that just blew my mind. I was like, how many? - Yeah, all of the, I feel like most of the top-top voice actors in Japan have like that kind of level. - A lot, yeah. - Does being popular on social media or being popular on TV, does that help you get a lot of roles in Japan? Is that like a factor? - Yes, it helps. - A lot? - Yeah. 'Cause you know, like if you have more followers then like you can, you know, what is it? Like, not really advertise more, but it's like, people know you, so it's like. - So they're more inclined to like watch the anime. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - So is there a lot of voice actors in Japan that are like, hey guys, getting into TikTok now. Is that a thing at all? - Yeah, there are some voice actors who do TikTok and like a lot more voice actors now are doing like YouTube, as well. - Right, right. - Yeah. That's kind of the same in English. Like a lot of voice, 'cause you kinda have to have a social media presence now, unfortunately. - Like the voice actor who did Gintoki, he's huge on Twitter. - Yeah. - Like he's like, he`memes the fuck out of himself on Twitter. He's like a lot of people like, especially in the West, just know him for that. - Oh, it's great. Everyone loves it when someone memes. One thing I'm sure that the audience is slightly curious about and people who watch anime, they want to be a voice actor in Japan. That's the thing, right. Have you ever seen someone who wasn't native in Japanese make it as a voice actor? Is that like a thing? 'Cause I've heard often to people who have tried, but I haven't heard anyone who's managed to do it who like wasn't native or born in Japan. 'Cause I've heard that, again, they are so strict on all the pronunciation and the way that you talk that you do have to be native. - Oh, I personally haven't seen anyone. - Right, RIP weebs. - I feel just like bilingual voice actors is just not a market that has been filled yet. I can't really think of like a notable voice actor in Japan or in the West that can do a role like that, that is not in their native language. - It's really hard because like for voice acting, especially in Japan, you have to be able to act like and speak in Japanese really fluently. But you also have to have that like Japanese, bowing and keigo, you know social skills, as well. So I think because when I first came to Japan, I was really like shocked by all the stuff that you have to do. And so I think, yeah, there's so many stuff you need to do other than, being able to act in Japanese. And now you have to like dance and sing and- - RIP weebs. - All these other stuff that you need to do. So it's like, yeah. - I mean I know you've already said that you started off like very young pursuing this dream as well. So you were like really determined from a young age. So yeah, I guess it takes a lot of work, doesn't it? - Rise and grind, weebs. - And there is like, it's a pretty harsh world. So it's like, you have to get used to people saying harsh stuff to you. If that makes sense? Like- - Oh don't worry, we've been there. - Yeah, we've talked about this a lot. Yeah, yeah. - It's like yeah, and obviously because, there's people on the internet as well, but there's the people around you, are like saying like this, you need to work on this. You need to work on that. And this part of like your acting or this part of you, you need to fix and stuff like that. So yeah. - But that's good, though, being able to take criticism, right. Obviously as someone who's higher up and they know what they're talking about. - [Shu] Mm, mm, that's true. - I mean, that's invaluable, right, to get someone to be like, you're shit, but you can't get better. Let me tell you how. Pyramid scheme. (all laughing) - Trained you. - But I know, like because when you go to school, the voice acting school in Japan, it's like the teachers there, some teachers are really, really strict. So like I know some students who used to go there, but because the teachers were too strict, I didn't think they were able to take it mentally. And they kind of like, started not coming to school and stuff like that. - It's definitely not a job for everyone. - Trial by fire, trial by fire. - In such a competitive industry it's bound to happen. Yeah, yeah. - Especially in the entertainment industry, as well. I'm sure there's a lot of stories that we will never hear the light of day. - No fucks given, right? - Yeah, yeah. - It's like if you suck, you suck. You know, that's all it is. - I am curious, as a professional voice actress who's like been in the field, what'd you think of the VTubing scene that's just like popped up in the last year and a bit? - Oh, well I think it's pretty cool because I haven't really done VTubing before. - Yeah, yeah. - But 'cause you use your voice and you're kinda like- - Playing a character. - A lot of people are just playing an anime character, but just like, they just never, they never break character or they try to stay in character for as much as possible, right? - Yeah, so it's like, you're acting as like a character on YouTube, but it's not the real you. So you have to kind of like, I think it's really cool because you have to think so much about the character and like how that character would act if something happens, you know? - Yeah. - Is that something you've ever thought about getting into at all or trying out? - Not really, but I think it would be fine if I was able to try doing VTubing. - 'Cause feel like VTubing is such a weird line between like acting as a character, but also like a lot of VTubers also put themselves into the role, as well, and kind of "Break character," quote unquote. So I feel it's just like another set of skills. - Why build a character when you already are one, right? Like just use your personality. - Yeah, exactly. - Spoken like a true person. - What can I say? You know what, you'd be a great animal VTuber. - Oh! - Just don't be a cat-girl, just be a cat. Just like make animal noises. - There is a VTUber, actually, that is just straight up a dog. - Really? - Yeah. It's just like a Shiba Inu, but their speaking like, a human. - Okay. - Oh really? I could just be a cat. - You could just be a cat. - [Connor] There's like a gorilla, as well, right? - Yeah, just be a cat! - Just be a cat. - You don't need to act in anime, though, you've already done that before. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Someone gives you $10, just meow at them. Meow louder? - No, because like I feel, 'cause I feel like there's a lot of, I don't know, like, do you see a lot of people in your field doing VTubing? Or is it like, is it something that's has just been so new that no one's really known how to deal with it yet? - Oh, it's pretty new. So I don't really know anyone around me who's like done VTubing being before. - Right. - But like, yeah, because it's becoming really like huge, right? There's like so many like VTubers on YouTube. I think, you know, there will be like a day when, - When, yeah, professional voice actors are dubbed on YouTube. - I feel, though, it's like maybe it might just be like a completely different category right. It's like, I feel a lot of the professional voice actors who have made it in the industry. Probably think like, oh, I don't really need to go down that route because I've got, you know, I'm getting roles. - Right. - Yeah. - Whereas like VTubers is a like kind of, a lot of them I feel are aspiring voice actors who just want to build up a CV. - [Shu] Right. - And is like, I can do voices. I can voice act, all that kind of stuff. So yeah, I feel like going from VTubing to professional voice acting might be a viable option, but I feel the other way around might not really happen. I dunno. - Yeah, maybe, I don't know. But like I know like acting for games and anime is really different to acting for like VTubing. So it's like, yeah, I don't know. - You're not on script, are you? - Have you ever been starstruck when you're on the job? - What do you mean by starstruck? - I don't know, just-- - As in like, you did an (speaking in Japanese) with like a voice actor or actress that you just loved- - Yes, yeah! - Like who's the most like, whoa, person you ever met? - Otsuka Akio-san. - Whoa, really? - Yeah. - [Joey] That's fucking cool! - I need a little context, who? - Otsuka Akio is like, yeah, Snake. He did "Solid Snake." - Oh, whoa! Okay, wow. - Like he's the kind of, he's the guy that has that really distinct talking style where he's like, I can't do an impression. - Yeah, I can't do it. - Please, go ahead, try, try. - Oh my god, he's kinda like the, I'm trying to remember. Yeah, yeah, it's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, actually Nabi does a really good Otsuka Akio. Yeah, yeah, he's just like the "Solid Snake" voice. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - You told my that. - He's probably like the top five. - Yeah, like-- - Like he's a fucking legend. - Does he meme a lot on Twitter? - I don't follow him on Twitter, so I don't know. - I feel like he does, right? No? Oh, I know the English voice does. (all laughing) - David Hayter, I know David Hayter. - Of course. - I fricking love those memes. - Yeah, again, I feel the biggest memers are usually the ones that are kind of like the legends, but I feel like even within the legends, a lot of them, you know, take their stuff like very, very seriously. You know, the boys for like Luffy for example, it's like, you never see her like memeing or anything like that. You know, the voice for Gintoki is like fucking whatever. - He's just like playing his character, right. - He's literally Gintoki in real life. Fucking awesome. - How did you stay composed when you walk in the room with them? It's like, (Connor clearing throat). - It was so I'm like nerve wracking because I dunno, 'cause I've seen him in like magazines and I've read his books and like... It was just- - Did you play cool? - I tried. (all laughing) I tried, but I don't know if I was able to. But there was like all these other voice actors as well, who were like really big, right. So it's just, I dunno, for me it was really hard to like act... - In front of them? - Yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Because you know, they're like super, super good. - Yeah. - And you're like, like you just came into the industry and you're like. - The bottom of the rank. - Know your place. - Hierarchy. - No, no, pyramid scheme. - Pyramid scheme. - Pyramid scheme, I'm sorry. Sorry, pyramid scheme. - Have you guys ever been star struck? By like anyone? - I think we've talked about this. Probably for me, it was Hiroyuki Sawano. I think I've already told the story about this. - Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Oh wow. - Have you ever gotten that with like a YouTuber? Like someone in the same field as you? - I don't think so, not yet, no. - I don't know, kinda after you do it for awhile, you're just kinda like, fuck this is boring. We're all so boring. I just, I sit in silence. - I would be lying if I said I wasn't like that with Felix the first time. - Yeah. - Yeah, of course. I mean like for me, YouTubers, I view YouTubers as just like people I want to hang out with. - Yeah. - It's you know, 'cause like we all do the same thing at the end of the day. I feel like once you get past a certain like level, you kind of get how- - A certain rank? - A certain rank in the hierarchy, like all YouTubers kind of like get each other. 'Cause we've all got to go through like the same shit. - Are you a big consumer of YouTube content? - Yeah, I watch a lot of YouTube. - Really? - Yeah. - In English? - In English and Japanese. - Well, you have a YouTube channel, right? - Yeah, I have a YouTube channel, too. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Wait, no, I think I did watch one actually. - Oh, really? - I think so. - I watched like your introduction video on the YouTube channel. - Oh really? - I'm like, wow, this chick is very Aussie. Like holy shit, she is so Aussie. - Wait, did you do a video where you did a test to see how Aussie you were? - Oh yeah, I did! - Okay, well I watched that one, yeah. - With a slang? - Yeah. 'Cause I'm not really fond of like Australian slang. I don't know if you are, but-- - It's terrible. - What's arvo, it's nonsense? - That's, what do you mean? That's not slang. - Like do you want a cuppa or like- - We say that. - A cuppa. Well yeah, they say that in the UK. - Oh you guys do? - Cuppa is cup. Wait, don't, don't. What are you on about? Cuppa's good. - Cuppa's good. It doesn't end with O, so that's how we know. I don't know why Aussies end everything with O. - It just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? - I've never used bottle-o. - You've never used bottle-o? - I've never used bottle-o before. - That's the liquor store for you non-Australians. - You're just adding a syllable to a word that doesn't need a syllable added to it. - Yeah. - I dunno. - But like bottle-o I feel is like, who the fuck came up with that? It's a word, let me end a word that ends in a vowel with another vowel. - Non-native speakers, bottle-o is the slang for bottle, right? - No. It's a bottle the store. - It's a liquor store. - You just thought it was a bottle this whole time? - I just though it was a bottle this whole time. Joey says it, I'm just like, what the fuck are you talking about, Joe? - How long have you known Joey for? - Not long enough apparently. - What the fuck? If you say it like, I'm just popping over to the bottle-o. - Okay apparently for even native speakers we get fucking confused, as well. - It's like, oh, I'm just going to pop over to the bottle-o. It means like I'm going to go buy some alcohol at the liquor store. - Liquor store. - Oh my god. Sorry, Americans, we've hurt you too much. - Yeah, sorry. - Maybe we've been too harsh on you. - So what are some of your favorite YouTube channels? What are you on? - I watch a YouTube channel called JOLLY. - Yeah, I think you mentioned that earlier, right? - Yeah, yeah. - What else? - And I watch a lot of animal videos on YouTube. - Like what? Give us a taste, give us a taste. I want to get a better feel of your character building in Japan. - I watch, my favorite dog is called a samoyed. It's like a huge white dog. - Okay. - Wait, what's the YouTube channel? What's it about? - The channel's called MilkyBokiTan. And it's like a YouTube channel that has a samoyed dog and two cats. - Okay. - Right. And it's just them living their life. - You just watch that? You just watch them? - It's an animal slice-of-life. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - I mean, that sounds nice. Do you practice or? - Well maybe. - Is this research for roles? - Sure it is, sure it is. - And it's funny because for like animal YouTube videos, like the owners are called butlers. - What? - They're called butlers because they take care of the pets, right. - I didn't know that. - Oh, wow. - Yeah. So like-- - Animal YouTube terminology. - Yeah. - How do they ask you to like subscribe and smash the like button? - They go, (growling) (all laughing) - On the screen. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, just subtitles. - Yeah, it just comes on as subtitles. (all laughing) - So you mainly watch animal videos? - Yeah, I mainly watch animal videos. - Damn. - There is one animal channel, actually, that I watch quite often. - Oh, really? - It's like Korean channel, I think, that it's this guy who has like a pet, I think it's a guinea pig, but he makes miniature models for the guinea pig. - Oh, I've seen this one, right. - Oh really? - So like he uses arts and crafts and like cardboard and stuff like that and he made like an (speaking in Japanese) for his guinea pig. - Wow! - And a sound booth for his guinea pig. And just like puts the guinea pig in and just like sees what the guinea pig does. - Whoa. - Cute as hell. - Actually, no, I did get into like, there was like, there's like ant YouTubers. - Oh, those fuckers. - They're badass. - Those are good. - It's basically it starts off with like, all right, well he's just got a tank full of ants. And then like the next video will be like, I have made a giant castle network of ants. And his whole like living room will be like tunnels of ants. It's crazy. - Was that the guy who was like, who fed the baby cockroach? - Yeah. - And like the cockroach gives birth as it's getting eaten alive by ants and it's got like a hundred million views or something. And I'm just like. - I can't watch insects. - Yeah right. - I just think of like, what happens if one of these breaks? - Yeah, right! - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - That's what I'm constantly thinking. - The house, it must be like quarantined off, like burn it down. - It's literally a kill it with fire kind of situation, right? You've just gotta fucking burn the house down. - Well it's also like, how do you bring a girl into that house, right? - Oh yeah, my bedroom is just past the ant-slide. Just move that out of the way. - It's like, so what do you do for a job? It's like, let me show you. - There's like, what are those YouTubers that like, I know there's one that like reviews, like rat traps. That's a whole channel. - What? - I actually kind of like it. - Why am I saying what? Of course there's a channel for that. - It's like a whole channel where the dude just reviews rat traps, that's it. - What? - He like shows them. - What makes a good rat trap? - Well, you should watch the YouTube channel. That's a question I had- - Now you've got me curious. - How many types of rat traps could there possible be? - I think he has like over like 500 videos on like different rat traps. - Oh dear God. - Oh wow. - Yeah, show 'em what. - Of course fucking Meyline knows that. - [Crewman] She's been nodding the entire time. - She's like, yep, my favorite. - This guy will make some insane trap, and in the end, the one that works best is always just like a ramp that goes into a bucket. That's just like the one that always works best. I know I'm getting off topic, but there's some, there is a weird category of anything you want on YouTube, someone's done it. - If it exists, there's a YouTube channel for it. - But, you make your own YouTube videos, right? - Yes I do. - Do you do it often? - What's a channel called first so people can check it out? - It's called ShuTube, for anyone who wants to-- - It'll be on screen right now. - Yep. - Yay! - Now subscribe! - Yes, please. Or wherever it is. Down in the description. - What type of content do you normally do on it? - I usually talk in English, and I just, I dunno, I just make stuff about English and Japanese food. Like cultural differences and stuff like that. - Yeah, culture stuff. - Yeah, culture stuff. - Right. - Do you like bring like the Australian side a lot or just every now and then? - I think I do. I think, yeah, I think I do. - What made you wanna start it? - That's the most stumped. - Good answer. - That's the most stumped you've been all day. - Yeah. - Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. - I think I just saw the lights flashing like in between her eyes right there. - So then were you like... (Joey screeches) - Why did I? I heard that question reverb. - Why did you start, start, start. I don't know, just 'cause you wanted, huh? - Yeah, yeah. - Just 'cause you wanted to, right? - I just wanted to, because- - All the cool kids were starting YouTube channels. - I'm interrogating and I'm like, you think you're ready kid, huh? - Oh, you're a voice actress? Yo, let's see you become a YouTuber then, okay. - Ah man, yeah, so if people wanna go check out the YouTube channel, it's in the description, so go check it out. - Yes please! - Yeah. - Yeah. - Now you should make a video being like, the truth about "Trash Taste." - Easy million views, right? - Yeah, easy million. - Easy million views. - "Trash Taste," exposed." - "My experience on Trash Taste." - I can't believe they were such nice guys. - Yeah. - There was all these words. (all laughing) - One kept saying penetrating, really weirdly. - There was incest for some reason? - There was a woman who like put up the incest thing? - Oh yeah, right, but be me. And you see just this- - That's what Meilyne held up! - You just see this off screen, and you're just like, what am I supposed to do with this, Meyline? What am I, what am I supposed to do with this? - That's not just incest, there's three fucking exclamation points. It's like, incest! - Like it's a fucking QuickTime event. - Well I heard someone was doing a sponsor or something, and it was a live event. Apparently someone was holding up like cards, telling them to do reactions. And apparently the words they wrote on the card were just like nonsensical. And they just didn't know what they meant. I can just imagine being confused, you're like, trying to promote a bike and they're like drive. And you're like what? What am I supposed to do with that? Drive, drive? The bike drives, it drives, very fast! Like what? - Yeah. When you were describing your experience about how, when you like flub up a line, you just got to like stay silent and just walk back. - Right. - I really hope that you don't see when we need to record, like, a sponsorship segment. 'Cause us trying to read a script is just like a fucking bomb going off. It's an absolute mess. - Oh, really? - It's like, for some reason, I don't know what it is, but the moment we get passed the script, it's like, you must learn English from scratch once again. You are not native in this language. - True. - Especially Garnt. - Yeah, Garnt. - Yeah, I'm the worst. - Oh, really? - Our sponsors take twice as long as they should, because Garnt is just like having a mental breakdown halfway through. He's like, "I can't do it. I can't speak English." - Just like the Windows shut down, like, (Joey imitating Windows chiming). Just out of business, like, it's like Garnt, come back. - So I'm just having a guess here. But I'm guessing that you like anime, right? - Yes. - It was just like a feeling, - Controversial thoughts. - Shit. - Just I just got that vibe. I don't know where I got it from. So what kind of anime do you like? - I watch a lot of anime. I like- - Really? Name every anime. (all laughing) - Oh, you're an anime fan? - I like "Creamy Mami." - Wow. - That's not the first show that I would have expected to come from your mouth. - I really like "Creamy Mami." - When I first heard that, I was like- - Sorry, what's "Creamy Mami?" - It's like, there's a girl called Mami. - Right. - And it's just, - Who's creamy. - Yeah, she was- - She hella creamy, dog. - It's a very unfortunate name in English. - That's what I was thinking. - Yeah. It's very unfortunate. - "Creamy Mami." - It's like a magical girl anime. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Oh, that one, that one, that one, okay. - Classic. - I think it was aired in the 1980s or somewhere around? - That's your favorite? - Yeah. - Wow. - Recent anime's I watch "Boku no Hiro Akademia." - Of course, of course. - "Haikyu." "Mawaru Penguindrum," "Psycho-Pass." - Yeah. - Oh like there's a, the list, "Violet Evergarden." - Oh damn. - I love how you just, it's so Japanese. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - No, it's perfect. - "Violet Evergarden" may hit it. - The weebs watching this are just frothing at the mouth, they're just like, "Ah, Japanese!" - I feel like I'm listening to one of those PVs that you see, right? - "Violet Evergarden." (all laughing) - Airing this spring. - "Psycho-Pass." - Sorry carry on, carry on. - Carry on, sorry. - I watch "Shidonia no Kishi." - Hell yeah. - Of course. - "Attack on Titan." - Yeah. - What else do I watch? Oh, I watch so much. "Yakusoku no Nebarando." - Yup. - Yeah. - Yeah, I love- - Did you watch season two? - Not yet. - Okay. We'll leave it at that then. - We'll leave it at that. - Let us know how you feel about it. - I know, I can already tell that you watch quite a fair bit. Considering the fact that, not only was your first choice, "Creamy Mami," but also the fact that you brought up "Mawaru Penguindrum." - Oh yeah, I love it. - And "Psycho-Pass" as well. - Yeah I love "Psycho-Pass!" - Yeah, I just kept nodding with that penguin one. I'm like, yep, yeah, what is that? - "Mawaru Penguindrum" is like, oh God. How do you explain that? - It's really hard to explain. - It's such a weird show. - Yeah, yeah. - You've definitely seen clips of it, though. - Probably. - Yeah, yeah. - It's got a lot of animals. - Yeah it's got a lot of- - Which makes a lot of sense. - I think I'm seeing a theme here. - Yeah. - Do you like "Beastars," by any chance? - Oh, I watched "Beastars." - Hell yeah. Hell yeah, dude. Of course you did. - I'm trying to think about that, "Zootopia." - "Zootopia." - "Zootopia." - I watch, I like "Pets." - "Pets?" - Wait isn't there a movie called "Pets?" - Yeah, it's the- - Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Oh, okay. - Yeah, like the Pixar or Disney film or whatever. - No, no, no, it's the Dreamworks. - Dreamworks, yeah. - I thought you were just saying, I like having animals. - Well, I mean I do like having animals but. - My God. - Yeah. - So, what were some of the anime that were the biggest influences for you to be a voice actress when you were a kid? - I think "Bleach" was. - "Bleach?" - Wow. - Wow. - I mean, yeah, because obviously Hitsugaya was voiced by a lady. - Yeah. - And all the actors were like, so like... - I mean, they were cool as fuck. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - We've said a lot about "Bleach," but I mean, everything about it was cool. - Especially Hitsugaya, right? Like Romi Park is such an amazing voice actor. - Yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. Especially in like, I think she did Alfonse as well, right? - Oh yeah, no, no. She did Edward. - Oh she did Edward. That's right. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah. - I would know that. - Yeah, yeah. - And she's Hange you from "Attack on Titan." - That's right. - Oh yeah. - Well that's a- - Yeah, yeah, she's like wow. Like, you know? - Yeah, did you like, when you were trying to get into the voice acting field, or like, how much research did you do with fellow voice actresses in the field? Or like fellow voice actors? - As in like, what kind of research? - Like, just like looking into it, right. Because I, like, I know there are some fans out there in the anime field who are like really, really into like the voice actors and voice actresses, right. - Right. - Were you like that, as well? Where you like-- - Yeah. (Joey speaking in Japanese) - Yeah, I was a (speaking in Japanese). I had like posters of voice actors on my wall and I would have like them as my back, like as my wallpaper. And so, like, I would like search who voiced like, I would be like, when I'd watch an anime, I would always watch the credits. And I would be like, oh! Like you know, this was voiced by this voice actor, and I'm like, ah! And so like, yeah. - Did you ever, like, have, did you ever sit through an anime just because of a particular voice actor was in it? - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah? I feel like, 'cause I have a couple of friends who are like, (speaking in Japanese) as well. And they're like, they can hear like half a second of a phrase and they're immediately like, yeah, that's that voice actor. - Yeah, yeah. - Instantly know it. Did you ever get to the point where you bought like voice CDs? - Oh yeah. - Oh my God. - Wait, what is it, what's this? - It's like, there's a lot of like different kinds of voice CDs out in the world. And there's like, oh, there's like voice dramas. And there's also ones where they kind of like talk to you. - Talk to you? - Yeah. - It's like, think of, think of a podcast except your doing the podcast with them. And it's in like POV. - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, this became an A-S- - POV, a part of "Trash Taste." - It's like an A-S-M-R thing on YouTube now. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - So I guess they made it, like the OGs. - Yeah. And they use like- - But they act as those characters. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - And they also have like, they have these microphones, - Yeah. - And it's kind of like, it's shaped like a person's face. - Ah, the Binaural ones. - Yeah, yeah. And then they use that to take some of the audio. So it's like, sometimes you hear the audio from the right side and it kind of seems like they're there. - Oh, it's like the A-S-M-R. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, it's the A-S-M-R mic, yeah. - Norman made a mic, and it's literally like a foam head. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, it's really weird. - It's kinda like that. - It's super fucking expensive, though. - Yeah, it's really fucking weird to look at, as well. Because you're talking into like a fake head. It looks really weird. - But it's like, but it's, yeah. For, I think decades now, these voice actors do these like drama CDs where they were like, for example, like, Romi Park would do one of Hitsugaya. And it's like, if Hitsugaya was like hanging out with you, like if you were on a date with this particular character. And they were like, they would play out these scenarios in POV. - Right. - Of like, if you were in that position. And like, people would just like, listen to it. - I mean, I've seen like some of the short anime that are kind of like that, where it's just like POV, you have a girlfriend. (all laughing) And it's just like that. It's just like every episode, there's like a different girl. - It's literally "Dora the Explorer." (all laughing) Because I've seen some where they're like, they would say a line and then they kind of pause for a couple of seconds waiting for your response. - I think I remember, I loved Code Geass. And when I finished "Code Geass," I need more "Code Geass." And they'd be like, the story continues in an audio CD. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - And I was like, what the fuck? - Like a voice drama. - I got it, and it just sounded like a museum tour. You know what I mean? And I was like, what is this? Oh, I can't listen to this. - It's like, welcome to Britannia. - It's like, Britannia was once a- And I was like, what? (all laughing) What the fuck is this? - It's like a lecture. - Yeah, I was like what is this? I don't wanna listen to this. - (speaking in Japanese) dig that shut up, man. - I've actually only bought one audio CD in my entire time of being an anime fan. - What was it? - It was for "Love Hina." (group laughing) - Hell yeah, dude! - Wait who, who? - Huh? - Of who? - No, it was like an audio drama. - Oh, oh, oh, all of them. - It was because like it ended and I'm just like, I need more. The manga's not doing it for me. I need to hear the voice actors and actresses playing out the ending of this. And so I fucking bought it. And it's the only audio drama I've bought so far. And I don't regret anything, it was amazing. - I think the closest I ever got to that was, I used to tune in, 'cause like a lot of voice actors, especially like the top ones do like radio shows. - [Shu] Oh yeah, they do. - Like talking about their role in the anime, of like, you know, if they like work together on an anime or whatever. And they would go for however long the anime spans for basically. So like the closest I ever got to that was, I used to like tune in every week to "Kaji Yuki" and "Shimono Hiro." - Oh! - It was like "Attack on Titan" on like radio. And it was really cool because they would openly just kind of poke fun at the show a lot of the times, as well. But it's also like, I mean, yeah, you guys are the voices of the show. So I guess that gives you some credit to be like, that was kind of ridiculous, wasn't it? Is it still a big thing in Japan, the audio CDs? - It is, I think it's getting bigger now. - Wow. - 'Cause, yeah- - I guess MP3s are easier to sell, right. - Yeah, yeah. - And I mean like we just establish, it's more about building yourself up as like a, kind of like an idol in some cases, right. - Is there like anything, I mean, how long, how many years have you been doing voice acting now? Like professionally. - Five years now because I debuted in 2016. - Right. - So, five years now. - Five years now. Is there any like voice role or type of character that you haven't done yet that you really, really want to do? Like, I want to do like a (speaking in Japanese), or I want to do like a maid or like just, any like archetypes that you want to do? - I want to try like a boy. - A boy? - Ah. - Yeah, 'cause- - I guess that's the Romi Park in you. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Hitsugaya right there. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Like (speaking in Japanese). I wanna try to voicing a (speaking in Japanese). - I mean like a lot of light kind of younger boy characters are voiced by females, aren't they? - Yeah, yeah, they are. - Like all the time, because people keep forgetting that like Ash or like Naruto are voiced by females. - And Luffy, as well. - Luffy, as well. - Luffy is voiced by a female. Or Goku is voiced by a female. - Kids are expensive. (all laughing) - Kids normally don't have proper voice acting training, you know? - Kids also are not very good at taking direction. What do you mean goo-goo ga-ga? I said, do the line. - Just have a teste pop off. - Yeah, exactly. Jesus Christ. - Oh my God, if Goku was voice by like a young boy and he just like, fucking has a teste pop complex or a (speaking in Japanese)? - [Garnt] That would be hilarious. (Joey squealing) - We need more voice cracks in anime. That's what we need. We need more realistic representations of puberty. - Hell yeah. - Have you ever done any events where you meet your fans or anything like that? - Yes, I have. I'm in this, like a local dance unit called Prima Porta. - Okay. - And we had this thing called watashikai where we like hand the CDs to the people who bought the CDs. - Right, right. - And yeah, we were able to like talk to the fans for like 30 seconds, a minute. - Damn, they really speed run that. - Yeah, really speedy. But yeah, yeah. - Is it kind of like the same thing, as in like, with like, I know a lot of the watashikai with like idols, for instance, that time- - It's the handshaking event. - Yeah. - Okay. - But the time extends depending on how many CDs you bought. - Oh, we didn't have that. It was kind of like- - Hierarchy. - Yeah. - Did you have to do that handshaking thing, as well? - Oh no, we didn't do hand shaking. It was more like waving. - Oh. - Okay. - And just talking. - Waving in close proximity. - Well, I saw videos of like guys not letting go and like security like dragging them out. - Yeah. - Yeah, yeah. - I guess it is a bit-- - It's so scary. - Yeah, it's a risk, yeah, definitely. Is it weird? Like when the first time that you had to do that, is it a weird feeling to be like, wow, these people came from me? - Yeah, it feels really like, 'cause like, on the internet, like SNS, like you don't know how many people are actually like into you. Like, I mean, they might comment and stuff like that, but you don't know, if they really, really like, you know. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Willing to go to an event. - We feel the same. - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - And then so when you actually go and like meet people and they're like, "Oh my gosh, I've been wanting to meet you for like so long," you're like, I'm so glad I did this job. (all laughing) - I'm so glad I defied my parents. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - It makes it all worth it. - It does, yeah. - You feel like, wow, somebody cares. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just being able to meet all those people. And even if you can't like talk to everyone, just seeing them and like, when you go to like, when you attend events and stuff and they're like calling out your name, it's like, oh! You feel really happy, so. - Like, for me? You're doing it, you're cheering for me? - Yeah yeah. - Oh my God. - You're the best maid! Best POV of my life. (all laughing) That's also fun. Do you go to many events then? Well actually now I imagine it's not so much. - Yeah, yeah. But yeah, I, like before this all happened, yeah, I used to attend events pretty often. - Have you been on the other side? - Ah, yes, I actually have. Like before going into this industry, like, I'd buy tickets to like concerts. - Yeah. - And lives and I would like, - Buy the CDs? - I'll buy the CDs and I'll buy the goods. - Yeah. - She waved at me! - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - It'd be really awkward if you'd turn up to the voice session and they'd be like, why do I know you? I swear I've met you. Where, I just can't put my finger on, and you're like, nowhere, nowhere. We did not meet. - It was so, it was funny 'cause one time I went to like a concert and it was like a female voice actors concert. - Right. - And like, her fans were like mostly male, but I really liked her. So like I went there by myself and all the fans were like male, right? So like, it'll be like one girl and all these males. And because, I think they thought that it was really rare that a girl would come to that concert. - Yeah, yeah. - They were kind of like, to me, like, "Oh, if I get too like noisy using like the blades, like please let me know." And like, (speaking in Japanese). - Wow. - Like oh that's so nice. - Were they trying to impress you? - I don't know, I don't know. - I don't mean to brag, but I can wave these bad boys for two hours straight. - Yo, yo, is this your first concert? Let me show you how a pro does it. - Sorry. Let me put away my guns. (all laughing) - I felt the exact same way when I went to the Sailor Moon Museum. - Oh! - 'Cause it was like five years ago in the Mori Arts Museum in Roppongi. And they had a Sailor Moon Museum. And I was like, I fucking love "Sailor Moon." So I went. Imagine room full of just like tiny, like Japanese girls like fawning over "Sailor Moon," meanwhile, in the middle of it, there's this massive white dude just being like, that's so fucking cute. Oh my God, dude, I fucking love Mercury. I felt, I've never had so many women stare at me for all the wrong reasons. It was the weirdest experience of my life. - You do not belong here, Joey. - And they were all looking at me like, what? Is he like staff? Why is he here? - Is he security, maybe? - I was like, what? Am I not allowed to like "Sailor Moon?" Fuck you. Yeah, but is there any like kind of social media that you want to shout out? Like I guess your YouTube channel, anything you want to shout out to the audience? - I have a Twitter account. If people want to follow it? - They will follow. - Just follow it, follow it. - Follow, follow! - We'll do it for you. - Also, Shu's YouTube channel, ShuTube? - ShuTube. - ShuTube. - What else? - That's all I have. - That's it? - Yeah. - No TikTok? - No TikTok, no Instagram. - How do you do the trendy dances? - Yeah, actually, TikTok would be like the perfect platform to show off all your skills that you literally trained years for. - That's true. - Like your singing skills where you literally had to hide it from your mom. - Yeah. - Your voice acting skill. - You can literally do that on TikTok. - Maybe I should download TikTok. Follow YouTube, follow Twitter. - Yeah. - Go, go. - Buy her drama CDs. - Yes, please. - POV, you are a princess. - And listen to her in your favorite anime. - Mm hm, yes please. - Yeah. - And games. - And games and everything. - And everything, yes. - Yeah, check out her stuff. But in the meantime, you can check out the lovely patrons who are just, - Look at them! - On screen right now. - Oh my God. - Who's your favorite patron, Shu? Is it that one or that one? - Just point somewhere on the screen? - What, what? - There'll be words. - Oh, this one! - [Connor] Oh that's a good, oh I like that one. - Frothing at the mouth now. But yeah, if you like to support the show, then make sure to head on over to our page on patreon.com/trashtaste. Also follow us on Twitter. Send us your memes on the SubReddit. And if you hate our faces, listen to us on Spotify. But yeah, thanks for coming, Shu. - Thank you for inviting me. It was really fun! - I hope you had fun. - It was really fun. - Even through some of the dodgy words that were used or whatever. - Shu's manager is just like sweating. - I'm sorry you have to see this off screen. That was like a bad- - We can hold on to that. for any like emergent, for any like emergency situations. We can just like, - Pass. - If ever there's a situation, I'll just be like. - One day, one day maintenance can be like, guys, I have the perfect, perfect thing to show. We'll keep it for the next hentai episode, maybe. - Yeah, definitely. But yeah, hopefully you guys enjoyed this episode and we'll see you guys next one. - [All] Bye! (jazzy music) (singer vocalizing)

Channel: Trash Taste

Views: 1,702,635

Keywords: TrashTaste, Trash, Trash Taste, Taste, Trash Taste Podcast, Anime, Manga, CDawgVA, Gigguk, TheAnimeMan, Joey, Connor, Garnt, Podcast

Id: ADOjGd0_5O0

Length: 118min 7sec (7087 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 23 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/WinnieY]

Just watched the episode! Love listen to her speaking English and knowing she's Aussie it's a bonus! (Aussie girl TTK here)

[u/sora3_roxas]

If you like this, Shuu also has a Youtube channel which she does all sorts of videos such as live streaming Q & As and as well as random slice of life stuff: link here